The Australian Wild Abalone (TM) supply chain education program is the direct result of Seafood CRC, FRDC and ACA investment over the past 5 years. While there has been significant progress and the supply education program program is being trialed in Hong Kong and China there are several elements that need further research to support the full commercial roll out of the AWA (TM) marketing and promotion program beyond 2015.

There is a need to gain deeper and more insightful engagement with the supply chain partners focusing on the key decision makers and the factors that influence purchasing decisions within the F&B sector in China and Hong Kong.

Understanding and utilising Chinese digital media will be a key marketing tactic in the future however very little is known about how best to use it. There are significant cultural and language barriers that need to be overcome so this project seeks to research, trial and evaluate at least two potential digital platforms to better understand how to incorporate Chinese digital media effectively into a marketing strategy.

The decision behaviour within the China based supply chain remains somewhat opaque beyond the importer and their immediate customers. There is a need to build on the relationships with the China and Hong Kong based importers and to work with them to consolidate those relationships to better understand the F&B sector in China and the retail sector in Hong Kong, in particular. this research is needed to gain a better understanding of how and when purchasing decisions are made. The ways in which consumer behaviour influences those decisions also needs further research.

In addition there is a need to research the potential for the AWA program to be expanded into other markets as an investment risk mitigation strategy for the industry. Singapore, Japan and the Australian domestic market (capitalising on the predicted Asian tourist boom) are all potential markets that have been identified through Seafood CRC research (eg SRL market diversification opportunities) and other sources. Research will be undertaken in partnership with Australian exporters and their importers in Singapore and Japan. If there is sufficient interest research will also be undertaken in the domestic market. Articulating the benefit cost of expanding the program to those markets, based on robust market research, is needed to enable the Australian Wild Abalone to prioritise fund for future market development efforts. There is also a need to investigate and make recommendations on potential funding options for the commercial roll out of the AWA (TM) program.

Finally there is a need to complete the registration of the AWA certification trademark, establish the AWA management committee and sign on suppliers.