The Australian onion industry is in the middle of a major social media campaign aimed at parents of primary school aged kids to find creative ways for them to consume the produce - and it is so far showing promising results.
The campaign was launched as part of the 'Secret Serve', to get parents of 4-12 year-olds to serve onions by ‘hiding’ them in meals to give their kids an extra serve of vegetables. It aims to increase knowledge and consumption of Australian onions, not only highlighting the health reasons to consume onions for families with kids, but it also giving practical hints and tips on the right preparation and cooking techniques.
Photo: Peter Shadbolt, Scott Gooding and Lechelle Earl
It was one of the feature topics at the Onions Australia annual conference, which involved a presentation from former reality TV contestant, passionate cook, father and ambassador Scott Gooding. He helped create a Facebook campaign targeted at main grocery buying mums aged 30-45, to download the book for free. Already it is being labelled a success - as halfway into the campaign, Onions Australia says it has engaged and surpassed all download targets, and ultimately, has them buying and using more onions.
"Researchers recognised that the biggest challenge for these mums was just how busy they are and how cooking dinner for the family, after work and school picks ups and after school activities has become a dreaded chore," Onions Australia CEO Lechelle Earl said. "Scott jumped at the chance to work with Onions Australia and Hort Innovation as most of his recipes are formed with the base of onions and garlic. Both are incredibly important for gut health and immunity, two of the most crucial health benefits for children with his tasty recipes."
The Onions Australia annual conference in Sydney last week attracted 40 industry representatives, who heard from a wide range of presentations during the levy payers’ meeting. Onions Australia chairman Peter Shadbolt welcomed two new members to the Executive Committee, with Dobmac Machinery’s Mark Dobson and South Australian grower Jason Daniell.
“Our Executive Committee members bring vast industry knowledge to the table, ensuring our growers are well represented,” he said. “We welcome Mark and Jason to the committee and know that they will be valuable members of our committee.”
The conference spanned two days and included a meeting of the Onions Australia Executive Committee, a delegates’ dinner, tour of the Sydney Markets, AGM and Levy Payers’ meeting. Mr Shadbolt said the conference successfully delivered information about the latest industry developments direct to growers.
“We pride ourselves on bringing the highest calibre speakers to our conferences to give our growers the latest information available,” he said. “Once again we lived up to those expectations with outstanding information provided. Those attending also made the most of the many networking opportunities available, with plenty of information sharing taking place.”
For more information and recipes from 'Secret Serve': www.scottgoodingproject.com
For other enquiries:Lechelle Earl
Onions Australia
Phone: +61 458 111 126