Right now, Australia’s horticulture and fresh-food producers are facing the toughest market conditions in a generation. From rising costs and flat domestic demand to export competition and workforce instability, the new reality of agribusiness demands more than operational change – it calls for an urgent rethink of how producers position themselves in the market.
At Sketch Corp, we specialise in helping Australian agribusinesses navigate these shifts. During these unprecedented times for the industry, we help brands thrive with brand and marketing strategies built strategically for today’s conditions. In this article, we explore the core challenges reshaping the sector, and the brand and marketing implications for agribusiness leaders who want to future-proof their organisations.
- With cost pressure intensifying, your brand must do more than sell – it needs to demonstrate true value.
Margins are tightening. Input costs remain high, global freight is volatile and labour expenses have risen with the end of piece rates and changes to visa schemes. At the same time, retailers are squeezing suppliers harder than ever in the fight to be seen as Australia’s best value food providers.
For agribusinesses, this means your brand can no longer simply be a name or a sales tool – it must become a true strategic asset.
- A strong brand helps you hold price. It gives retailers confidence in your consistency, compliance and quality, so they don’t trade you out for a cheaper supplier.
- A clearly positioned brand can significantly improve efficiencies throughout your value chain, reducing guesswork and aligning internal teams around what really matters to customers.
Having a solid brand strategy isn’t about glossy storytelling – it’s about strategically shaping how your business is understood and valued by your key markets.
- Overproduction and waste threaten viability – both your production system and your marketing should mirror your market alignment.
Trying to scale production to protect margin is risky. If your crop mix or quality profile doesn’t align with buyer demand, more production simply creates more waste – and more cost. The solution? Market alignment – not just in your production system, but in your messaging.
- Use your brand and marketing channels to demonstrate your responsiveness to what customers want – be that size, quality, sustainability or performance.
- Ensure your product claims are clearly and consistently communicated across every buyer touchpoint – from digital profiles and packaging to trade show booths and brochures.
- Workforce challenges aren’t going away – so your brand needs to entice workers.
Labour remains one of the biggest constraints across Australian agribusiness producers – but too often, brand strategies overlook the employer side of the equation.
The best agribusinesses understand that employer branding is not just a recruitment task – it’s a strategic imperative.
- Workforce redesign and performance depend on attraction. To build the workforce needed to power innovation, productivity and quality control, agribusinesses must be seen as employers of choice long before someone’s actively job-hunting. This means crafting and marketing an authentic value proposition that speaks to what people want today and tomorrow – flexibility, purpose, safety, upskilling and leadership that listens.
- A strong employer brand is a top-down commitment, not a bottom-up campaign. Leaders must model the values they promote, and ensure these are visible to the outside world through owned channels and real stories.
- Younger generations are the workforce of tomorrow—how does your brand align with their values?
If you’re thinking about workforce planning for the next decade, Generation Z and Alpha must be on your radar. These groups are already reshaping industries with their expectations of climate-conscious business, social inclusion, mental health support and meaningful work.
For agribusinesses, this means:
- Developing a values-led brand that demonstrates environmental and social credibility
- Creating content formats Gen Z actually consumes, from short-form videos to behind-the-scenes day-in-the-life storytelling
- Meeting them where they are, including social platforms, school outreach programs and regional events
There’s enormous opportunity right now for producers to invest in their brand strategy – and the marketing that follows – to build stronger, more resilient workforces for the future. But it has to be genuine. That starts with senior leadership recognising that employer branding isn’t a ‘nice to have’ – it’s an absolute must-have for successful businesses. When this belief is embedded from the top, it can shape culture, guide decision-making and translate into strategic, authentic communication. Becoming an employer of choice might sound like a cliché today, but in ten years, it’ll be a competitive advantage enjoyed only by those who got it right.
- Brand trust starts with authenticity. You need to get your story straight – then tell it.
Today’s retailers, buyers and consumers are more informed, more sceptical and more demanding than ever before, and expect transparency and consistency across every interaction.
Whether you’re selling into Coles, Woolworths and/or independents, negotiating with export brokers or onboarding new seasonal labour, your brand needs to tell a clear, consistent and compelling story about:
- How you operate
- Why you do it that way
- What standards you meet and exceed
- What outcomes you’re proud of (e.g. product innovation, carbon savings and labour retention)
If your website, social media, sales collateral and employer materials are disconnected, confusing or outdated, you risk missing out on invaluable customer trust.
Your brand must be built for performance, not just presentation.
Agribusinesses that treat brand and marketing as a simple box-ticking exercise are being outpaced by competitors who see them as tools for margin protection, workforce resilience and operational focus.
At Sketch Corp, we work with agricultural leaders who want to build brands that perform – brands that reflect the commercial realities of food production, the human stories behind every harvest and the evolving expectations of tomorrow’s markets and workforces. If you share that ambition, let’s talk.