“Thanks to COVID, the usual events, like festivals, where people roast the chestnuts, weren’t happening. The focus of the marketing shifted to social media to promote the product, but it worked. Agents were telling me that the chestnuts were selling really well, even as far north as Queensland. I even had people tell me they didn’t know how many uses there are for chestnuts until they saw them on social media.”

Luciano Chester, chestnut grower, Victoria

The opportunity

Chestnuts are quite different from other nuts, both nutritionally and in a culinary sense – something most Australians aren’t aware of. By educating consumers about their high nutritional value, and other delicious dietary properties, there was an opportunity to increase demand, particularly in the vegan and gluten-free market.

The approach

Running from January to June 2021, the campaign featured 20 social media influencers, with a combined audience of more than 100,000. Content created by the influencers, including recipes, generated high levels of engagement, showcasing a range of chestnut veggie burgers, stir-fries, and nourish bowls.

High profile chefs Jason Roberts and Luca Ciano promoted the 2021 chestnut season via Instagram Live, and social media followers were given the chance to win one of ten specialist chestnut cutting knives, receiving more than 200 entries via Facebook and Instagram.

In May 2021 the team showcased Australian chestnuts at consumer events, including the La Fiera Food & Wine Festival and an accredited Farmers Market in Myrtleford, Victoria. As well as demonstrating the many delicious and nutritional traits of chestnuts, consumers were shown how to select, store, and cook chestnuts, with content from the events leveraged across social media.

To coincide with the launch of the season, an electronic newsletter was distributed to consumers and retailers, packed with recipes, practical storage tips and various content, all demonstrating the nut’s versatility. In addition, 30,000 recipe and education brochures were distributed to wholesalers, retailers and growers, upon request.

The outcome

Through compelling content, a social media influencer network, and event engagement, hundreds of thousands of Australian consumers have been urged to “Give chestnuts a go,” confident they’ll be eating a quality product, packed with nutritional and healthy benefits.