Marketing

Smart labels that use state of the art technology to give shoppers a host of new information about products could create a direct line of communication between consumers and producers and help foster a new era of trust between them, according to a new research project.

Front-of-pack nutrition labelling schemes that use across-the-board algorithms â such as Nutri-Score â allow for âdiscrepanciesâ, whereby a dark green âAâ ranking does not necessarily mean a healthy choice, argues Voedingsjungleâs Manon van Eijsden.

This week’s virtual town hall focused on precision nutrition. “This is a customizable approach to dietary management by providing tailored nutritional advice,” explains Max Teplitski, PMA’s Chief Science Officer, who led the panelists in the discussion. “While this has been more or less the approach of…

A new online food directory linking customers with agricultural producers is seeing more at-home consumers showing an interest in learning more about where their fresh produce comes from and expanding their taste palates.  ‘Straight To The Source’ Marketing Director, Monique Emmi says the site will allow direct…

Frustrated at the overuse of the term ânaturalâ to define food products and ingredients that âdo not always match consumersâ expectationsâ, Safe Food Advocacy Europe is calling on the European Union to develop a legal definition.

From the 24-hour news cycle to pop-up ads magically curated to our wants and desires, to product labeling on everything from t-shirts to meat products, the marketing messages we see daily can be overwhelming. This is especially true if you want to make choices that are better for the planet. Being a conscious consumer is […]

Successfully marketing the health and wellness benefits of vegetables, fruits and flowers begins with understanding the specific consumer pain points those products can ease.

Recognizing the customer perspective first, rather than starting messages with product or company information, is a key shift from how many produce companies have traditionally communicated about their products, Dan’l Mackey Almy, president and CEO of DMA Solutions, said on a panel Oct. 14 at the Produce Marketing Association’s Fresh Summit.

“We just haven’t had this historical run of speaking to the consumer, and so we have a lot of language and we have a lot of habits, if you will, of how we speak about our products,” Almy said. “We tend to talk about our products like we’re talking to a retail buyer or a foodservice buyer, and we talk about it in that same way.”

To be effective in marketing, brands have to make the consumer the hero of the story, Almy said. She suggested speaking to a challenge a certain consumer group is facing and then offering a relevant product as a solution for that problem.

“The good storytelling comes from a place of understanding what your audience needs and desires ... where their emotions are and meeting them where they are, and we have more opportunity to do that today than we ever have,” Almy said.

This week the LGMA is launching a new website created specifically for registered dietitians, influencers, professional food writers and consumers. LettuceInfo.org is dedicated to everything you need to know about lettuce and leafy greens and is a resource to help people access facts and get answers…

The Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, announced that the Government will refresh the Canada Brand platform to ensure industry and partners have access to new graphics and tools optimized for today's digital platforms. The refresh will also enable them to reach more…

The 2-year-old Chicago-based company said it's now raised a total of more than $100 million.

Today, the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, announced that the Government will refresh the Canada Brand platform to ensure industry and partners have access to new graphics and tools optimized for today’s digital platforms. The refresh will also enable them to reach more consumers and enhance virtual connections with international buyers, and will include a modernized look, signature, messaging, and suite of digital-first marketing products for the Canada Brand.

Fraud with regard to fruit (and produce in general) is commonly related to labeling claims about production practices, production location or brand names. In some parts of the world, unapproved substances may be used to speed or enhance ripening or to make fruits look more visually appealing. Still,…

The last full week of August saw the smallest produce sales increases since the start of the pandemic across virtually all departments. Prior months had shown weak final week of the month sales and, in this case, the results were further influenced by a much earlier Labor Day in 2019 that fell on Sept. 2.

That means the sales results of the week ending Aug. 30, 2020 ,went up against the 2019 Labor Day sales. Labor Day has always been a massive holiday week for grocery — making it a much harder holiday to beat than ones that had more of a split retail versus foodservice nature in typical years, such as Mother’s Day. Additionally, sales were negatively affected by more extreme weather events, impacting large parts of Louisiana and east Texas.

The net effect for fresh produce was a much smaller gain than those seen since the last week of June. For the week of Aug. 30, fresh fruit and vegetable sales increased 4.7% over 2019. Frozen fruits and vegetables had a much higher percentage increase, at +17.7% but is the smallest of the three temperature zones. Year-to-date through Aug. 30, fresh produce department sales are up 10.9% over the same time period in 2019. Frozen fruit and vegetables increased the most, up 26.8% year-to-date.

Starr Ranch Growers is expanding its Emoji character offerings to a new 100 percent recyclable pouch bag. The recyclable pouch is made of high-density polyethylene plastic. Recycled HDPE plastics can be used to make plumbing pipes, plastic rope, children’s toys, and a range of other products. It takes much…

Redfox Executive Selection and Beanstalk Global have been exclusively commissioned by a client that develops businesses which have a positive impact on the world to source them two new commercial partners. 'Our client’s team is passionate about starting and growing businesses and continues to work with…

Monaghan Mushrooms is now a brand new member of the Bund deutscher Champignons- und Kulturpilzanbauer. Here is an interview with Susanne R. Knobloch, Senior Commercial Manager for the DACH region at the company. Susanne R. Knobloch: 'The German mushroom industry has had to face various challenges in…

In India the lockdown came suddenly back in March and affected a lot of businesses especially those involved in the grape export as it was just 2/3 way through.AVI Global Plast produce packaging for, amongst others, the grape sector but the company seems to have coped very well in a difficult…

Church Bros. Farms is expanding its value-added offerings to the retail segment with the introduction of five new items under the Green Giant Fresh brand: sweet baby broccoli, sweet baby cauliflower, spaghetti squash, butternut squash and sweet potato.

The Sweet Baby vegetable line includes sweet baby broccoli in an eight-ounce bag and sweet baby cauliflower in a 10-ounce bag.  Both vegetables are washed and ready to use with a 16-day shelf life.  

Sweet baby broccoli is sweet and tender from floret to stem and 100 percent edible, reducing food waste and kitchen prep time. Sweet baby cauliflower is a new sweeter variety of cauliflower with tender green stems that become brighter when cooked.

“These new items give retailers the opportunity to build a Sweet Baby category. Their uniform stand up pouches look great side by side on the shelf,” said Rick Russo senior vice president of sales and marketing.

The Cubed and Crumbled veggie line includes a range of hearty vegetables that deliver nutrition as well as flavor and convenience.  The Cubed items include sweet potatoes, butternut squash and spaghetti squash in 16-ounce bags. Accompanying the original Cauliflower Crumbles and Cauliflower Crumbles Fried Rice, the Cubed offerings will further satisfy consumers’ needs for convenient cuts of gourmet, nutritious veggies.

Broccoli, 3D-printed into unusual shapes to tempt a picky toddler. Beef stew, produced in the same way to make it easy to swallow for an elderly relative. Pork and potatoes, also rendered by a machine for a patient with oral cancer who can’t chew. Advances in 3D-printing mean printed food is becoming…

The Dutch consumer program, Radar, recently took a closer look at the fresh pack concept. Are these packs really so tasty and convenient? Isn’t it much cheaper to buy all the products separately at the supermarket? To find out, Radar called on Dutch food blogger, Brenda Hoff. She compared pumpkin soup and…

DMA Solutions welcomes fresh produce professionals to join an interactive webinar named “Marketing Matters.” Launched to offer fresh produce marketers a forum for learning, sharing and an open dialogue, each webinar is hosted twice a month on Zoom at 1PM CST. For several months, Dan’l Mackey Almy, along…