PBH looks to move consumers to action
ORLANDO, Fla. — For consumers, knowing that fruits and vegetables are part of a healthy diet isn’t enough, Wendy Reinhardt Kapsak believes.
Speaking at the Education2Action Retail Dietitian Summit on Oct. 17, Reinhardt Kapsak — president and CEO of the Produce for Better Health Foundation — described the research and work that is going into a “re-imagining PBH for the future,” part of a brand refresh that will come into full force next year.
“We’re evolving to help consumers not just know that fruits and vegetables are healthy, but also feel and hopefully do more to increase consumption,” she told the group of more than 20 retail dietitians at the event, which was hosted by PBH at the Rosen Plaza Hotel across from the Orange County Convention Center.
Talking about PBH’s vision for the future while at the same time getting feedback from the audience, Reinhardt Kapsak spoke for about an hour on the process PBH is going through to set a new direction.
Part of the answer, she said, is moving people who “know” that fruits and vegetable are good for you, to “feel” strongly and “do more” to consume more fruits and vegetables.
“We could enhance knowing about health and well being, but we have to transform to make people feel something, and so (they) need to feel inspired and not just know that its good idea but want to do it — make it a want not a need that they want to eat more fruits and vegetables — and make that a part of what they actually end up doing every single day,” she said.
She said that nutrition is part of the identity of PBH, but supporters of the foundation want it to be more than that now, to leverage new thinking to raise fruit and vegetable consumption above its current flat line trend.
Most Americans eat only half of the recommended levels of fruit and vegetables, she noted, and only about one in ten consumers actually meet the recommendation.
PBH is funding a comprehensive science review of the health benefits of fruits and vegetables, she said.
“(Nutrition) will always be our core,” she said. “But if we are going to drive change, we’re going to need to drive results and we’re going to need everybody’s help to do that.”
PBH has conducted recent consumer research linking increased fruit and vegetable consumption to happiness and life satisfaction, she said.
Reinhardt Kapsak said research into the brand refresh could likely result in a new approach to messaging than the current PBH call-to-action, “Fruits & Veggies — More Matters.”
She said the new call to action, now under development, will look at the call-to-action in the context of consumer lifestyle and behavior change.
