Marketing activities in Southern Asia
08 June 2017
Ongoing trade expansion and promoting the use of Australian beef and lamb on menus across Southern Asia were the focus of MLA’s marketing activities in the region over recent months.
Food and Hotel Indonesia
MLA hosted 11 Australian exporters at Food and Hotel Indonesia in early April, the country’s leading international food and hospitality event, attracting key trade-only buyers.
Against a backdrop of a major campaign staged by Indian exporters promoting Indian buffalo meat, it was vital for Australian product to be showcased and exporters to be present to strengthen ongoing business relationships.
In conjunction with trade expansion, MLA launched a series of high-end foodservice campaigns.
MLA supported the Association of Culinary Professionals during Food and Hotel Indonesia by running the 11th Salon Culinaire – the most prestigious culinary challenge in Indonesia. Secondary cuts of ‘True Aussie’ beef were used in the ‘Hot Cooking Class Challenge’ which featured 60 young finalists from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Taiwan.
Chef culinary competition and training
In association with the Semarang Culinary Professional Chef Club, MLA ran a chef culinary competition, the ‘True Aussie Beef and Lamb Chef Challenge’. The event saw 20 professional chefs from across Central Java challenged to use ‘True Aussie’ beef rumps and lamb racks to create two dishes within 90 minutes.
Prior to the chef competition, MLA held butcher skills training for 150 butchers, professional chefs, caterers and culinary students at Central Java (Semarang), led by technical consultant, David Carew. The training aimed to reinforce the attributes of Australian red meat against competitor products, handling and storage, and utilising secondary cuts to better leverage profits and menu choices.
Food and Hotel Vietnam
MLA hosted nine exporters to Vietnam during the last week of April to attend Food and Hotel Vietnam, where all companies were able to secure new leads and identify ongoing growth opportunities in the region.
During the event, MLA led a retailer training forum, with more than 100 retailers from across the country receiving an introductory update to Australian beef and lamb and several category cutting techniques relevant to Australian product in the market.
Banqueting innovation workshop
In May, 33 executive and banqueting chefs from Malaysia and Singapore attended a two-day banqueting innovation workshop. In conjunction with Thomas Foods International’s sponsorship of beef and lamb, guests were exposed to an array of specialist cutting techniques by MLA Taiwan butcher Calvin Gung, and menu development by Master Chef Richmond Lim. This workshop aims to increase the awareness and sale of non-loin cuts for five-star banqueting, while promoting the versatility and quality attributes of Australian red meat cuts.
More information
Andrew Simpson
MLA International Business Manager – Southern Asia
E: asimpson@mla.com.au
