Australian Mushrooms Marketing Update: Levy Investment Activities
As we approach the end of FY26 activity and prepare for the FY27 program, we’re pleased to showcase the activities and strategic priorities shaping our efforts to inspire more Australians to choose and use mushrooms.
This update outlines our focus areas designed to keep Australian Mushrooms top of mind for consumers and drive demand for mushrooms.
Launch of the Latest Australian Mushroom Pizza Partnership: A Limited-Edition Winter Pop-Up with 400 Gradi
As part of the FY26 strategic focus on foodservice channel expansion, Australian Mushrooms is teaming up with 400 Gradi for an exclusive winter menu. Expect an innovative menu that reimagines mushrooms as the flavourful frontman, putting mushroom creations centre stage on a range of limited-edition pizzas. From roasted mushroom creams and mushroom pesto bases, 400 Gradi will hero mushrooms at their pizza-topping finest. The takeover is available from 18 June across Gradi's Victorian locations in Brunswick, Crown (Melbourne), Eastland, Essendon, Mildura and Mornington, as well as Norwood in Adelaide.
As a Melbourne institution and nationally acclaimed culinary name, 400 Gradi is renowned for its authentic, award-winning Neapolitan pizzas, crafted by celebrated Chef Johnny Di Francesco.
Johnny Di Francesco wanted to create a menu that showcased mushrooms in unexpected ways.
"Mushrooms are one of the most versatile and flavour-packed ingredients we have in the kitchen. They bring incredible depth, natural umami and a richness that works beautifully on pizza," said Di Francesco.
The pop-up features brand-new mushroom creations, each reimagining the ingredient far beyond the familiar sliced topping.
The ‘Mushroom Delite,’ featuring a comforting roasted mushroom cream base with Fior di Latte, sausage, and crispy garlic chips, delivers a rich and satisfying flavour profile, keeping Melburnians and Adelaideans warm this winter.
The ‘Roasted Mushroom’ layers potato and truffle puree with Fior di Latte, roasted mushrooms, parmesan and parsley oil. Packed with earthy flavours and deep umami notes, the dish is a standout creation that showcases mushrooms at their finest.
Completing the trio and bringing a slice of Euro summer to Aussie winter is the ‘Mushroom Pesto’, which swaps the traditional tomato base for a vibrant mushroom pesto made from roasted mushrooms, parmesan, garlic, pine nuts and olive oil.
The collaboration will come to life in-venue, through social media assets shared across the 400 Gradi Instagram account, with Australian Mushrooms tagged as a collaborator, as well as digital display advertising on the Uber Eats platform. Content will also be amplified across earned media pitching, with the aim to inspire foodservice operators to elevate mushrooms on their menus and reinforce Australian Mushrooms’ position as a leading pizza ingredient.
Looking Ahead: FY27 Mushroom Marketing Plan and Campaign
FY27 Strategy and Marketing Plan
Looking ahead, the FY27 strategy is focused on driving demand through a tighter, more targeted program that builds top-of-mind awareness before purchase, strengthens retail presence and lays the foundations for future growth. With penetration in long-term decline and unprompted intent to buy low, the plan prioritises increasing salience and consideration by heroing the key benefits of mushrooms – particularly taste and health - and reinforcing their role as an easy and versatile ingredient for everyday meals.
The FY27 marketing plan reflects four clear strategic takeaways: increase the focus on health without losing sight of taste and versatility, inspire easy everyday dinner occasions, drive relevance with the next generation of consumers, and do fewer, bigger, better activities.
Read more about the strategy and marketing plan at the MushroomLink Australian Mushroom Marketing Members’ Area.
Optimised Campaign Creative
To increase consumption frequency by giving light and medium buyers stronger reasons to eat mushrooms more often, the existing Mmmmushrooms campaign has been optimised to include prominent health messaging alongside taste benefits. Through the lens of consumer interests and motivating drivers, five key health messages have been selected and will be integrated into the campaign in FY27. The new campaign will come to life across social media, outdoor advertising, broadcast radio, radio partnership with LISTNR and shopper media.
Read more about the optimised campaign creative at the MushroomLink Australian Mushroom Marketing Members’ Area.
Channel Strategy and Block Plan
As we move into FY27, the media strategy and channel plan has been shaped to include:
Winter-first flighting: Delivering our messaging during key supply times, with heavier presence across key winter and shoulder months.
Four paid media channel mix: Selecting best performing channels to optimise FY27 performance and prioritising Shopper as our main always-on channels, with Social, Audio and OOH running across targeted months to maximise delivery in winter and shoulder months.
In-aisle comes first: making sure we show up where we’re most likely to be purchased, focusing on shopper in-aisle and search placements to support organic on-site performance all year round.
The channel mix includes:
Audio:
Utilising an integrated digital audio partnership with LISTNR with deep integrations into popular podcast titles to speak to audiences about the full range of mushroom taste and health benefits.
Branded radio advertising to drive mass reach, driving consideration before point-of-sale.
Retail out-of-home: to build physical market salience towards physical path-to-purchase, triggering strong health and taste-based motivation when consumers are in a decision-making mindset.
Social Media: delivering messaging across TikTok, Instagram and Facebook, to drive top-of-mind awareness and support meal planning across the campaign’s key months.
Shopper media: to prompt grocery buyers at retail (Coles and Woolworths), combatting low unplanned purchase intent by increasing presence at point-of-sale.
Driving Earned media to create brand fame and talkability and lift Australian mushrooms into culture with younger audiences.
Read more about the channel strategy and block plan at the MushroomLink Australian Mushroom Marketing Members’ Area.
Issued on behalf of Hort Innovation: This project is funded by Hort Innovation, using the mushroom marketing levy.