M.AMA.2601 - Aussie Meat Academy EMEA FY26

Summary

The Aussie Meat Academy within Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) delivers tailored education programs that enhance industry skills, inspires innovation, and builds preference for Australian red meat. Through targeted education and engagement initiatives, the Academy supports stakeholders that strengthen customer relationships, drive business growth, and maximise revenue and margin maximisation opportunities.

The Aussie Meat Academy delivers a diverse range of educational activities for the culinary community, including training for butchers, chefs, front of house teams, and distributor sales professionals. These programs range from practical technical education to in depth immersive experiences that engage both trade customers and consumers, showcasing the quality, consistency and versatility of Aussie beef and lamb.

The Aussie Meat Academy also extends the reach and influence of Australian red meat through its Ambassador Program, which identifies and engages passionate, credible, and influential industry professionals. This includes MLA's successful Lambassador and Aussie Beef Mates programs. By leveraging these ambassador networks, MLA partners with industry advocates to deliver a broad range of educational activities, promotional campaigns, and market engagement initiatives aligned with its strategic priorities. These programs amplify MLA's reach, strengthens industry voice, and fosters long term preference for Australian red meat across the EMEA market.

Objectives

Fluctuating economic conditions across the Middle East on a domestic and inbound tourism front, coupled with persistent inflation, rising cost of living pressures, reinforce the need to continue investing in education around Aussie red meat. Building consumer knowledge and confidence supports and strengthens the preference not only for Australia as a trusted country of origin, but also for Aussie red meat in a highly internationally competitive protein market whereby lower priced alternative protein options command a significant share of voice and consumption. Our Aussie Meat Academy activities complement and amplify other market development investments, working hand in hand across multiple projects to maximise our impact, strengthen consumer preference, and support our ambition of a longer term demand lense for Australian red meat.