Cooee Native Foods joins JCDecaux for NAIDOC Week campaign

Indigenous-owned Cooee Native Foods has partnered with JCDecaux Australia on a digital out-of-home campaign in Sydney and Melbourne. Timed to coincide with NAIDOC Week, the campaign centres on this year's theme, 50 Years of Deadly.

Running across JCDecaux's digital advertising network in both cities, the campaign highlights First Nations culture, native ingredients and Indigenous enterprise. It follows Cooee's recent move to bring the Creative Native Foods brand into Indigenous ownership.

That acquisition marked the first time the 25-year-old brand had been Indigenous-owned and, according to Cooee, broadens opportunities for First Nations growers and producers in the native food sector.

Founded as an Indigenous-owned business, Cooee focuses on food and snack products made with Australian native ingredients. Its approach connects those products with the cultural knowledge and stories linked to Country.

Through JCDecaux's digital outdoor sites in Sydney and Melbourne, the partnership gives the campaign access to a large urban audience. The media group said the initiative aligns with its Reconciliation Action Plan and its Nurture for Country program, which supports organisations working on environmental and community outcomes.

As part of the collaboration, Cooee founder and Chief Executive Officer Terri-Ann Daniel spoke with JCDecaux employees across the country about native foods and Indigenous-owned businesses. The discussion explored the stories behind native ingredients and the role these businesses play in cultural and economic outcomes.

For Cooee, the outdoor campaign adds a public-facing element to a broader commercial and cultural push. The company aims to build awareness of native foods while expanding market opportunities for Indigenous suppliers involved in growing and producing those ingredients.

Brand ownership

The transfer of Creative Native Foods into Indigenous ownership is notable in a market where native ingredients have long attracted commercial interest, but ownership has not always rested with First Nations businesses. By bringing an established brand into its portfolio, Cooee gains a longer trading history and a broader platform to reach consumers.

Cooee has framed the change as both symbolic and practical. Symbolically, it places an established native foods brand under Indigenous ownership for the first time. Practically, it may create a wider route to market for growers and producers supplying native ingredients.

Outdoor advertising is increasingly used by brands and organisations seeking broad public visibility in major cities, particularly when linking a message to a national week of recognition. Here, the campaign combines commercial promotion with a cultural message about First Nations knowledge and food traditions.

Daniel set out that connection in comments released alongside the campaign.

"NAIDOC Week is a time to honour culture and recognise the knowledge that has sustained our communities for thousands of years. Native foods carry stories of Country, kinship and care for the land. Sharing these ingredients with more Australians helps grow understanding while creating opportunities for Indigenous enterprise to thrive," said Terri-Ann Daniel, Chief Executive Officer, Cooee Native Foods.

Corporate backing

For JCDecaux, the partnership forms part of a broader effort to support Indigenous-owned businesses through its corporate programs. The company described the campaign as one example of how its media network can be used to give visibility to businesses with cultural and community ties.

Tess Phillips, Executive General Manager, Corporate Affairs and RAP Co-Chair, commented on the rationale for the partnership.

"Supporting Indigenous-owned businesses is an essential part of strengthening cultural, social and economic outcomes. Cooee's campaign gives their story national visibility, and hearing directly from Terri-Ann helps our teams understand how Indigenous enterprise carries culture and community forward," said Phillips.

The native foods market has grown steadily as Australian consumers and retailers show greater interest in ingredients with local provenance. That has created commercial opportunities for businesses able to connect supply, branding and consumer education, while also increasing scrutiny over who benefits from that growth.

Cooee's campaign brings questions of ownership and participation before a mass audience during a week that already draws strong public attention to First Nations history, culture and achievement. It also reinforces the company's effort to position native foods not only as consumer products, but as part of a broader story about Country, community and Indigenous economic participation.

Creative Native Foods, now under Cooee's ownership, has operated for 25 years.