Over 70,000 shoppers engaged during in store sampling program
The Mushroom In-Store Sampling Program (MU21503) has reached over 70,000 shoppers in supermarkets across the nation. The program, conducted throughout 2022, has delivered important insights into consumer attitudes, which will help inform future marketing strategies.
The program, funded by Hort Innovation through the mushroom marketing levy, aimed at increasing the domestic demand for Australian mushrooms. With close to 50,000 samples consumed during the campaign period, and more than 70,000 shoppers exposed at 617 stores across the nation, the data provides a reliable information into current drivers and barriers to purchase.
Taste (58 per cent) and versatility (31 per cent) are the dominant factors that made mushrooms appealing to customers. Texture (seven per cent) and price (three per cent) were other factors influencing purchase of mushrooms.
Conversely, price (40 per cent) and a dislike for mushrooms (21 per cent) were the main factors deterring mushroom purchase and consumption among those customers who were questioned.
Twenty per cent of customers questioned during the campaign, which ran from August to December 2022, indicated that they were not deterred from purchasing mushrooms by any factors.
The Mushroom In-Store Sampling Program was endorsed by the Mushroom SIAP to drive category growth with point of purchase conversion by inspiring shoppers with delicious and easy mushroom recipes to taste while in store.
“How do we inspire consumers to consider and use mushrooms more often?”
With 49 per cent of Australian households deciding on their dinner menu last minute (an all-time high), the campaign took the opportunity to remind shoppers that mushrooms would make a great dinner idea. The campaign took place on the busiest retailer days of the week and timeframes for greatest impact.
To maximise any benefit from impulse purchasing, promoting an inspiring recipe – together with other messages around versatility - was recognised as key.
The campaign aimed to:
Increase awareness of versatility of mushrooms by promoting healthy eating without the hassle
Encourage trial purchase of Aussie Mushrooms
Communicate versatility, ‘blendability’, usage scenarios and hand out recipe leaflets
Communicate key selling messages
Highlight where the products can be located in-store
Encourage customers to buy directly from the promotional table
Leave customers with a positive brand experience.
The campaign involved static in-store sampling through which shoppers were invited to taste two mushroom recipes – vegetarian meatballs and mushroom mini-toast – which were prepared and sampled in-store by Australian mushroom brand ambassadors.
Vegetarian meatballs were chosen as a popular family meal that taps into the growing trend for people to reduce the amount of meat in their diets. The mushrooms on toast recipe aligns with the AMGA-run Café Culture foodservice campaign, #mymushroomtoast.
A total of 68% of shoppers interacted with were converted into trying a sample, with 52% indicating that they intended to buy the product after consuming a sample.
More than 12,000 manually counted units of pre-packaged mushroom products were sold during this period, in addition to 5624 kilograms of loose mushrooms.
Northbridge (NSW), Marrickville (NSW), Gordon (NSW) and Springwood (Qld) were among the highest sampled stores.
Jamison (ACT), Blacktown (NSW) and Dapto (NSW) recorded the highest pre-packed sales. Dickson (ACT), Heidelberg (Vic) and Dee Why (NSW) recorded the highest loose sales.
Other topline insights from the campaign included:
75% of customers thought about the product prior to trial
Consumers were very receptive to sampling the products and the majority of customers spoke favourably of mushrooms as a vegetarian option at mealtimes
The aroma of garlic and mushrooms throughout the store encouraged sampling
Promotional materials with a QR code link to the recipes provided a significant talking point and caught the attention of many samplers
Brand ambassadors reported that some samplers shared that they would be buying all ingredients to make the meatballs or mini toast for themselves and/or their family
In terms of negative feedback, the most common barriers to sampling were customers who did not like mushrooms or those allergic to mushrooms.
Due to the success of the 2022 program, the Mushroom SIAP has endorsed another round of sampling in the second half of FY23, starting in March.
This article was originally published in the MushroomLink magazine issue 04 (28 March 2023). Click here to view the full publication.
Marketing update – mushroom in-store sampling
When it comes to planning dinner, nearly half of Australian cooks are last minute Larrys, providing the perfect opportunity to remind shoppers of the wonders of mushrooms as they do their dinner shopping.
With this key statistic in mind, the Hort Innovation marketing team developed the Mushroom In-Store Sampling Program.
Capitalising on the prevalence of impulse buyers in Australian supermarkets, mushroom ambassadors were at the ready to inspire eager shoppers with mouth-watering aromas, delicious tasting samples, and simple recipes to cook at home that night.
The in-store sampling, part of the levy-funded MU21503 project, was endorsed by the Mushroom SIAP to drive category growth with point of purchase conversion by inspiring shoppers with easy mushroom recipes to taste while in store.
The overall objective of the campaign is to contribute towards the FY22 Australian Mushrooms Brand vision to push long term domestic growth for the mushroom category.
The initiative is part of an effort to make Australian mushrooms a staple ingredient in the Australian home by driving increased consideration and frequency of purchase, and answer the underlying question:
“How do we inspire consumers to consider and use mushrooms more often?”
Emma Day, marketing manager at Hort innovation, explains that this initiative is part of a four pillar plan that underpins the mushroom marketing strategy (see MushroomLink, Issue 1 Winter 2022, page 19 for the full marketing strategy).
“This project is part of our Pillar 3 Win in Retail, which aims to increase the visibility of mushrooms in retail settings,” she said.
“In addition to in-store sampling, other elements of Pillar 3 include in-store advertising, online shopping advertising and out of home (OoH) advertising panels on the path to purchase, i.e., close to, or inside of, retail stores.
“As the project runs until the end of the year, we are still collecting data, but customer feedback has been very positive,” Emma added.
The in-store sampling program (10am-2pm) and (3pm-7pm) ran across the country (except Northern Territory) in Woolworths and Coles stores. Demonstration tables, branded with Australian mushrooms imagery, also contained additional marketing collateral including business cards and a QR code linked to the Australian Mushrooms website for more mushroom recipes.
Australian Mushroom Brand Ambassadors prepared two recipes, namely vegetarian ‘meatballs’ and mushroom mini toast. Australian families love meatballs, and this vegetarian version taps into the growing trend for people to reduce the amount of meat in their diets.
The mushrooms on toast recipe aligns with the AMGA-run Café Culture foodservice campaign, #mymushroomtoast, recently won by the Guyala Café in Cairns.
A total of 276 in-store sampling sessions have been completed thus far, with sessions ramping up toward Christmas to complete 600 in total by end of 2022.
The current results are as follows:
Total samples: 23,736
Total interactions: 32,568
Average samples per session: 86 (Target: 80)
Average interactions per session: 118 (Target: 115)
Customer feedback suggests that they love the vegetarian options and the aroma of the garlic and mushrooms throughout the store, which encourages tasting. The business and stand-up cards have been very successful as many samplers are interested in the recipes for the meatballs and mini toasts.
Brand Ambassadors have also been encouraging samplers to look through the “recipes” tab to view these recipes and many others, which highlight the versatility of mushrooms. This has been a key talking point among all sessions.
This article was originally published in the MushroomLink magazine Issue 03 (December 2022). Click here to view the publication.