Creating a World-First Industry-Retailer Capability Ecosystem to Strengthen Avocado Quality from Orchard to Store

Overview

Reservoir Partners led the strategic development and delivery of the Australian Avocado Industry Virtual Reality Training Program (AV24010), a national capability-building initiative funded by Hort Innovation through the avocado research and development levy. Developed in partnership with Avocados Australia and Woolworths, the program created a world-first industry-retailer capability ecosystem spanning orchard, packhouse and retail environments within a fresh produce category.

The Opportunity

Maintaining avocado quality across the supply chain remains a persistent challenge. While progress has been made in orchard practices and post-harvest systems, a critical gap remains in how fruit is handled during picking, packing and retail execution. Training across these environments is often inconsistent, difficult to scale across dispersed and seasonal workforces, and heavily reliant on informal, on-the-job instruction. Hort Innovation and the avocado industry identified an opportunity to create a standardised, scalable capability platform that could strengthen quality outcomes across the entire supply chain.

Our Approach

Reservoir Partners led stakeholder alignment, project development and delivery across a highly collaborative industry-retailer partnership involving Hort Innovation, Avocados Australia, Woolworths, growers and packers. The program was developed through an extensive co-design process to ensure industry credibility, operational practicality and retailer relevance. The resulting ecosystem incorporated immersive virtual reality learning experiences across orchard, packhouse and retail environments, helping participants understand not only what actions to take, but how decisions made at every stage of the supply chain influence fruit quality, shelf life and consumer outcomes. Real-world production environments, interactive assessments and scenario-based learning were combined to create a scalable capability platform capable of supporting workforce development across the industry. Immersive learning and virtual reality production were delivered by Start Beyond, supporting the development of highly realistic training experiences designed for deployment across diverse workforce environments.

The Outcome

The program represents a significant advancement in workforce capability development for Australian horticulture. By connecting growers, packers and retailers through a shared learning ecosystem, AV24010 moves beyond traditional training models to create a more consistent understanding of quality across the supply chain. The initiative established a scalable platform for future industry capability development while demonstrating how immersive technology can strengthen collaboration, improve knowledge transfer and support better quality outcomes from orchard to consumer.