Macadamias are well known and loved in Japan, particularly as a healthy and indulgent addition to chocolate confectionery products.
We began 2020 by collaborating with a popular Japanese healthy lifestyle brand to stage a series of immersive macadamia events designed to take consumers deeper into the macadamia story.
This follows on from a number of successful initiatives run last year to help Japanese fans discover new ways to enjoy macadamias beyond chocolate. This also saw our industry host Japanese food technology students on a ‘Discover Macadamia’ tour of the Northern Rivers macadamia growing region of Australia.
Here we explore our most recent consumer events in this important market and reveal how they expanded Japanese consumers’ knowledge of how macadamias can be part of everyday healthy living.
Seikatsunoki collaboration positions macadamias as a natural lifestyle hero
Seikatsunoki is a respected natural and organic herb and aromatherapy brand with more than 120 stores throughout Japan. Operating for 50 years, it boasts an extensive product line of essential oils, herbs, superfoods and skincare produced using high quality ingredients from global partner farms.
The company also operates a medicinal herb garden called Yakkosouen by Seikatsunoki an hour out of Tokyo, with a restaurant, bakery and Ayurvedic spa on site.
A collaboration between Australian Macadamias and Seikatsunoki proved to be a highlight of our winter campaign in Japan, with live macadamia beauty and culinary events running in-store and at the herb farm’s restaurant and bakery, timed to coincide with Australia Day – the official national day of Australia.
Discovering the beauty of macadamia oil
At the Seikatsunoki Harajuku store in Tokyo, a series of macadamia beauty workshops were run where participants learned how to make their own facial oil and essential oil blend using macadamia nut oil.
The workshop included information on the many benefits macadamia oil can offer the skin, including the fact that it is a 100% natural, lightweight skin moisturiser for all skin types, and that eating macadamias provides the antioxidant manganese, which that is essential for your skin to produce the collagen it needs to stay plump and wrinkle free.
Places were limited and filled quickly, with attendees receiving a gift of macadamia culinary oil and nuts as a memento of the experience.
Macadamias on the menu
An hour from Tokyo, visitors to the Yakkosouen restaurant and bakery at Seikatsunoki’s herb garden were treated to an array of nutritious macadamia delicacies as part of the venue’s special macadamia lunch buffet.
Restaurant guests enjoyed a choice of delicious dishes showcasing the versatility of macadamias, including macadamia croquets, macadamia tacos and a selection of macadamia salads, while in the bakery, fresh macadamia scones, macadamia cookies, and macadamia meat pies were on offer.
More than 300 people enjoyed the buffet event, with many also eager to visit the ‘cracking booth’ where they could crack their own macadamias. In the spa, guests were invited to make their own essential oil blend using macadamia oil.
Amplifying the experience
A tailored PR and social media strategy ensured the events and messaging were shared with a wide audience.
The beauty workshops were promoted in Omosan, a free local newspaper targeting the Shibuya, Harajuku and Aoyama districts of central Tokyo. With its large female readership, focus on cultural and global content, it was an ideal fit and helped to drive workshop registrations, and awareness of the macadamia beauty message.
Event related content was also shared across Seikatsunoki’s digital and social channels, as well as the Australian Macadamias Japanese website, social medial channels and e-newsletter, expanding the reach of our taste and beauty messaging well beyond the lucky few hundred people who experienced the workshop and buffet first-hand.
Valuable content for uncertain times
The current global climate means it may be several months before we have the opportunity to host live events like these again. However the content generated by these events will continue to prove valuable in the coming months, as people everywhere spend more time at home and seek out new and easy ways to nourish themselves and their families from the inside out.
Our sincere thanks to our team in Japan and their counterparts at Seikatsunoki for making these successful events possible.
