Australian macadamia industry unveils second Innovation Challenge

After a successful launch in 2017, the Australian macadamia industry is bringing its Macadamia Innovation Challenge back for a second exciting year, increasing the scale of the program to invite participation from China and Japan. The world-first platform is aimed at generating new packaged food concepts that can inspire the food industry globally and drive new demand for macadamias around the world.

For the past decade, the Australian macadamia industry has been raising awareness of the versatility and unmistakable flavour of macadamias and the Challenge is designed to drive even greater innovation and further diversify the use of macadamias in food manufacturing.

Challenge 1 saw an impressive array of unique concepts created by food professionals and students from the food technology field in Australia. Challenge 2 will expand on this with an increased pool of cash and travel prizes and extension of the campaign to invite participation by entrants from China and Japan, alongside Australia.  

Competitors are again invited to submit creative concepts for new packaged food products using macadamias. Challenge 2 will explore four product categories – confectionery, snacks, cereals and future foods – with competitors required to submit ideas with either an Asian or Western flavour profile.  

10 shortlisted finalist entries will be invited to pitch their ideas to a judging panel of industry experts and leading food innovators at the sensational finals event and attend the awards ceremony in Byron Bay in April 2019.

Entries close 3 December 2018. For all the details head to macadamiachallenge.com

For challenge inquiries please contact Anita Turelli M: +61 404 070 221 E: anita.turelli@hosthavas.com

Subscribe to The Macadamia Review

Our monthly e-newsletter

  • By submitting this form you agree to let us collect your personal information in order to contact you back. Read more at our privacy policy

Latest stories

See more news

The macadamia product innovations that shaped 2025

Macadamia innovation showed real momentum in 2025. Across the 12 months to the end of September, brands around the world launched 735 new products featuring macadamias, an increase of almost 20% on the previous period. China led the activity at 14.4% of launches, followed by Australia at 11% and South Korea at 7.5%, according to Mintel GNPD. It was a year that demonstrated just how broadly, creatively and confidently manufacturers are using Australia’s native nut.

2025 Australian Macadamias Yearbook

The 2025 Australian Macadamias Yearbook presents a consolidated view of our industry’s progress and performance over the past 12 months. Offering a concise summary of core areas it includes:

2025 Australian macadamia crop finalised following challenging season

Australian macadamia growers have delivered a 2025 crop of 43,800 tonnes in-shell at 3.5% moisture (46,940 tonnes at 10% moisture). The final result sits slightly above the revised mid-season forecast released in July, following severe weather events and associated impacts across all production regions.

SUBSCRIBE TO THE MACADAMIA REVIEW

and be the first to know about the latest news from the Australian macadamia industry.

  • By submitting this form you agree to let us collect your personal information in order to contact you back. Read more at our privacy policy