Agribusiness, Food & Trade

Hands-on courses help food businesses grow

Premium food and beverage producers looking to grow their businesses are taking advantage of a series of short training courses aimed at improving their competitiveness and expanding into domestic and international markets.

Five workshops were held in the Theatrette at DPIRD South Perth recently, attracting more than 150 industry participants: Are You Ready for Export? (25 July), Fast and Furious Innovation (26 July), Accessing eCommerce Markets (6 September), Winning Export (31 October), and Food and Beverage Labelling (6 November).

Due to strong interest from industry, the Food and Beverage Labelling workshop was also held regionally in Margaret River.

Export Council of Australia consultant Tristram Travers addresses workshop participants at the Accessing eCommerce Markets training course

The courses are being hosted by the department’s Food Industry Innovation (FII) project in partnership with Food Innovation Australia Limited (FIAL), Export Council of Australia (ECA), the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science’s Business Entrepreneurs’ Program, and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).

Are You Ready for Export? focused on how to view export as part of a broader business growth strategy. Participants were guided through developing a personalised export market plan using a self-diagnostic tool.

Winning Export provided more detailed discussion addressing export questions such as: Where to export?, Who to target and why?, What to take?, How to enter?, Where to place your products?, How to activate your brand? and How to price your products?

Accessing eCommerce Markets workshop participants

Real business innovation challenges were the focus of the Fast and Furious Innovation course including best practice innovation insights from food and start-up industries, practical frameworks and tools.

The eCommerce workshop covered topics such as international e-commerce insights, cultural intelligence, high-demand food sectors, marketing strategies, protecting your brand, and managing intellectual property protection.

Export Council of Australia head of product and skills development Collins Rex, Food Industry Innovation project manager Kim Antonio, Export Council of Australia consultant Tristram Travers, FII project officer Kaylene Parker, and Business Entrepreneurs’ Program business adviser Don Geare at the Accessing eCommerce Markets course hosted by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development

Food and Product Labelling participants indicated there was a need for more workshops on this topic, specifically on Country of Origin labelling.

The course covered a range of topics including food labelling requirements, consumer wants and trends in food labelling, common ingredients and ingredients consumers avoid, the rise of clean and transparent labelling, country of origin labelling, and environmental and socio-economic factors in labelling.

FII project manager Kim Antonio said the team had identified training and knowledge sharing among a range of support tools to help WA premium food and beverage producers address their business needs and gaps, and overcome barriers to growth.

“We are pleased to provide access to targeted resources, knowledge, skills, and information on domestic and international market opportunities to help local producers take the next step in their business journeys,” he said.

For more information about upcoming workshops and to register your interest online, visit: fial.com.au and events.csiro.au

Six key business challenges identified by workshop participants

1. Growing customers and markets - attracting and satisfying new customers while retaining and growing existing ones. Finding and acting on opportunities in new target markets

2. Staying competitive - creating and maintaining a competitive edge, competing against cheap imports and other new competitors

3. Information technology and social media - understanding, selecting and implementing best IT solutions and social media marketing for the business

4. Understanding and protecting intellectual property

5. Finance/loans and dealing with banks

6. Navigating complex regulations on food and product labelling