There’s good news for those manufacturers and retailers including macadamias in their line up for the 2021/22 holiday season, with research showing the majority of consumers think macadamias are gift-worthy.
As Christmas and Chinese New Year approaches, research by the Australian macadamia industry reveals that macadamias have a strong association to gift giving, with 61% of respondents globally agreeing that macadamias were suitable for gifting.
The research carried out in Australia, Japan, China, Taiwan, South Korea and the USA, also found that compared to all other nuts, macadamias universally owned the gift-giving space across every market surveyed.
What makes macadamias gift worthy?
When it comes to understanding why macadamias hold such a strong association with gift-giving, the answer could well lie in how they make people feel during a consumption moment.
The research revealed that macadamias evoke feelings of being the most special and superior of all nut types. In Japan, macadamias are also considered to be richest tasting nut, while in Taiwan they’re seen as being from trustworthy origins more so than other nuts.
On top of this, 57% of respondents associated macadamia nuts with luxury and indulgence, while 61% see them as premium.
Based on this, it’s clear that featuring macadamias as an ingredient in gifting products makes a gift more special.
Reconnecting through macadamias
The ongoing pandemic has left many people feeling disconnected and out of touch from friends and family again this year. As the holiday season rolls around, gift-giving will be a way for people to reignite their connection with those close to them, whether in person or by sending a package from afar.
More than a third of consumers across all markets said socialising was key to their wellbeing, and the holiday season offers the perfect opportunity to reconnect with loved ones.
Macadamias have the potential to bring people together in social consumption moments, performing twice as well as other nuts in relation to social consumption occasions such as casual gatherings with friends and family, hanging out and socialising and at celebrations or parties.
With health a hot topic in 2021, many will be mindful of how they can best benefit the person they’re buying for this holiday season. Gifting products containing macadamias not only signal indulgence, but also add a ‘health halo’ as an ingredient that offers up physical health and mood-boosting benefits.
We look forward to seeing this year’s macadamia gift products as they hit retail shelves in the coming months.
About the new Australian Macadamias research
In late 2020, Australian Macadamias commissioned research based on 6014 individual surveys with consumers in Australia, China, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and the USA. Conducted by the Singapore regional office of independent research agency Kantar, the research was conducted between August and October 2020 and findings delivered in December 2020.
