South Korea is an important market for the Australian macadamia industry, and one in which we are the dominant supplier, with Australia accounting for 99% of all macadamia imports. Until now, usage has primarily been in snack formats, particularly daily nut mixes, but more recently we’re seeing macadamias embraced as an ingredient in other food and beverage products too.
Popular South Korean brands Yonsei Dairy and Drop Top have both launched products featuring macadamias, presenting ideal opportunities for cross-branded consumer promotions. A series of social media giveaways shone a spotlight on these product innovations, driving awareness of the versatility and Australian origin of macadamias among consumers.
The activity grew our social media following in South Korea and reached more than half a million consumers. Let’s take a closer look at each of these collaborations.
Yonsei Dairy showcases macadamia beverage potential
Yonsei Dairy is a popular household brand in South Korea, and the nation’s second-oldest dairy company. It produces a range of dairy milk, soy milk and juice products, including a delicious chocolate macadamia milk which formed the focus of our brand collaboration.
Made using Australian macadamia paste and blended with chocolate flavouring, it’s available in both 1-litre and single-serve pack sizes. The flavour of the macadamias gives the product a unique taste profile that sets it apart from other chocolate milk products.
We also partnered with two Instagram influencers to help amplify our messaging to a wider audience. The chosen influencers have a combined following of more than 380,000 and their content showed macadamias and Yonsei Macadamia Chocolate Milk incorporated into everyday living.
All up the giveaway campaigns reached more than 362,000 people and generated a host of positive comments from fans, including, “How delicious is macadamia and chocolate together! I think Australian macadamias are reliable because they’re grown in a sustainable way” and “I bought a plane ticket to Australia but haven’t been able to go for 3 years. I really want to know the taste of Australian macadamias with this event!”
The winners of both giveaways posted enthusiastically about their prizes, further amplifying the macadamia message.
Drop Top adds health halo with macadamias
Drop Top has been a fixture on the Asian café scene for more than a decade and has recently repositioned as a premium healthy café franchise, aligning with the growing interest in health and wellbeing among South Korean consumers.
When Drop Top launched a macadamia matcha levain-style cookie, it was the perfect fit for a brand collaboration. While this style of cookie is typically quite indulgent, the use of macadamias and matcha helped to add a health halo, enabling consumers to treat themselves, but in a better-for-you way.
The activity reached 275,000 consumers across our owned channels as well as those of Drop Top and the influencer partners. Fans engaged positively with the giveaway posts, with comments including, “I heard about macadamia health benefits, and they taste good! I want to have home café time with macadamia cookies” and “I bought Australian macadamias in the department store, and they taste amazing. I want to taste them again.”
Once again, the prize winners were excited to receive their macadamias, cookies and coffee, with many posting about the products on their Instagram accounts.
