BY HANNAH PARRY, HORT INNOVATION

Launched in October 2024, the Australian Onions marketing campaign, funded by the onion marketing levy and delivered by Hort Innovation, set out with a clear goal: to reposition onions as the essential first ingredient in flavourful, healthy meals and encourage more frequent purchase among Australian households.

With 53 percent of households purchasing onions every four weeks, the campaign focused on reaching ‘light buyers’ – those who buy onions less frequently – by shifting perceptions and reinforcing onions’ role in everyday cooking.

Strategic approach: cultural moments and behaviour change

The campaign strategy was grounded in a key insight: from Aussie barbecue favourites to multicultural cuisine, most dishes start with onions. This inspired the central campaign message – ‘onions are the first ingredient’ – aimed at driving long-term behaviour change by encouraging consumers to grab an onion every time they cook.

To maximise impact, the campaign focused on cultural relevance, aligning earned and social media activity to key calendar moments to spark conversations. Each moment highlighted a unique ‘layer’ of onions, covering messaging around taste, versatility and health benefits to ensure a well-rounded campaign narrative. Mary Kalifatidis, media personality and passionate home cook, bought the message to life as campaign ambassador, helping to drive engagement and connection.

Campaign highlights and results

From October 2024 to June 2025, the campaign featured three major PR spikes complemented by always-on social media content. Collectively, these activities exceeded KPIs for earned reach and delivered strong social engagement.

Spike 1
Ambassador announcement & Aussie smashburger

The campaign launched with Mary Kalifatidis’ ambassador announcement, generating immediate buzz through news features and lifestyle interviews. A highlight was an exclusive feature in 9Honey, reaching 1.1 million readers with messaging around onions’ taste, versatility, and flavour.

Mary also announced the partnership on her Instagram, generating 139,051 views. She also introduced her take on the trending Oklahoma-style smashburger – the ‘Aussie Onion Smashburger’ – reinforcing Australian Onions as the essential ‘first ingredient’. This content performed strongly, reaching over 486k on Instagram and 393k on TikTok, with 8,155 total engagements. Nine earned stories about the recipe appeared in outlets including Farm Weekly, Daily Motion, and Good Fruit & Vegetables, reaching a total 1.26 million.

Spike 2
The Aussie onion dip

For summer, onions became the star of picnic season with Mary’s fresh twist on French onion dip – the Aussie Onion Dip – positioning Australian Onions as a key ingredient for seasonal entertaining.

Exclusive interviews, supported by new summer food trend research, a custom recipe and visual assets were offered to media, landing eight pieces of coverage and a reach of 32 million. Highlights included Mary’s appearance on The Morning Show, where she showcased both recipes and emphasised Australian Onions as a versatile, hero ingredient. She was also featured in Sydney Morning Herald’s ‘My Day On a Plate’ column – syndicated across The Age, Brisbane Times, and WA Today, reaching 13.6 million readers.

On socials, Mary’s dip recipe video performed strongly, reaching over 428k on Instagram and 331k on TikTok, with 6,955 total engagements. Paid social further boosted content visibility and achieved over 4.1 million impressions, helping to promote the flavour profile of onions and their versatility.

Spike 3
The great onion debate – under or over?

Coinciding with the May federal election, the third PR spike ignited a national conversation around the iconic democracy sausage: should onions go under or over?

To spark conversation, Alex Dawson, founder of the Democracy Sausage website, championed the ‘onions under’ stance in an exclusive TODAY interview, while TODAY Extra featured kitchen expert Jane De Graaf demonstrating the perfect caramelised onions for a democracy sausage. During the segment, Jane also discussed the differences between Australia’s three onion varietals, reinforced the ‘first ingredient’ message, and encouraged viewers to visit the Australian Onions website.

A live sausage sizzle activation in Melbourne added to the buzz, serving 458 democracy sausages and inviting passers-by to choose a side, with local advocates from both Team Over and Team Under displaying posters and banners.

Results from this campaign were exceptional, with 79 pieces of earned coverage generating a total reach of over 75 million.

Mary also extended the debate into camping season, sharing content that encouraged families to debate onions rightful place as the first ingredient on the sausage sizzle. This reached 338k people on Instagram and TikTok and generated over 1,000 additional engagements.

Sustained social impact

Between spikes, always-on social content kept the brand visible, with a focus on seasonal relevance, recipe inspiration and health messaging.

In cooler months, content emphasised onions’ winter health benefits and featured Mary Kalifatidis’ favourite family meals. This included a ‘day on a plate’ approach, positioning onions as the essential first ingredient across breakfast, lunch and dinner occasions. These posts performed strongly, achieving over 28k in reach and 3,000 engagements across platforms.

Four evergreen recipe ads further built mental availability, each showcasing onions in different meal occasions. The ‘One Pan Chicken Parmi’ was the top performer, achieving over 1 million reach and 2,047 recipe clicks, followed by the ‘Sunday Roast’ and ‘Tangy Citrus Salad’.

Organic social activity supported brand salience, using existing recipe imagery on Facebook and Instagram to maintain presence and brand salience. The Father’s Day post was the top organic performer, driving 1.7k reach and 28 engagements.

Final thoughts

By tapping into cultural moments, food trends and seasonal relevance, the campaign successfully repositioned onions as the essential first ingredient. Mary Kalifatidis’ authentic voice brought credibility and warmth to the message, while targeted PR spikes and sustained social activity kept onions front of mind year-round. With strong media results and signs of shifting consumer behaviour, the campaign has laid the groundwork for long-term impact – reminding Australians that great meals start with an onion.