Content, social media key in marketing to families with kids

Creating content that provides practical solutions for parents continues to be a focus for produce brands looking to reach families.

Chris Veillon, chief marketing officer for Leamington, Ontario-based Pure Hothouse Foods, which markets the Pure Flavor brand, said developing content for a host of different social media channels is critical given the level of digital engagement among consumers.

“No longer being in store for product demos or handing out free samples at community events, the digital landscape is our conduit to consumers,” Veillon said. “From Facebook to Instagram to Pinterest — even circling around the idea of TikTok — we have ramped up our digital strategies in the last year to make sure we are talking to the right people at the right time on the right channel and — most importantly — with the right message.”

For a number of brands, partnering with influencers is part of the strategy.

Yakima, Wash.-based Sage Fruit has been working closely with The Produce Moms and Healthy Family Project, said president of sales and marketing Chuck Sinks.

“Through our Produce Moms partnership we have seen tremendous online engagement with our recipes and educational material,” Sinks said. “We currently have an e-book that is in the final stages of production and will be released soon on the Produce Moms website — the target audience being kids.”

To meet families where they were at the start of the pandemic, Leamington-based Nature Fresh Farms created a program called Growing Minds on its website.

“In an effort to develop healthier food, nutrition and cooking habits in children, we developed and launched this educational initiative to provide parents and teachers with free lesson plans, presentations, activity sheets and quizzes to engage students and help get them on the path to living a healthy lifestyle,” said public relations coordinator Sarah Krzysik.

Dan Davis, director of business development for Yakima-based Starr Ranch Growers, said the company has significantly evolved its digital strategy in the last year.

“Our focus has always been on the retail buyer, our gatekeeper to get to the end user,” Davis said. “With the pandemic and the tools at our disposal through social media, we’ve really targeted getting our end consumer to pull our product through the retail environment. 

“We’ve also completely evolved our social media targeting,” Davis said. “From recipes to use our products, presented in a quick and easy format, to co-branded promotional giveaways with a host of partners to draw interest, we’ve thrown a lot of stuff at our consumers and we’ve been really happy with the engagement we’ve had.”

Watsonville, Calif.-based Well-Pict Berries also focused on meeting needs for consumers through content.

“Over the last year, the kitchen has become the home office, classroom and meal prep station for three meals a day,” said director of marketing Jim Grabowski. “During this time, we shared content with consumers that would inspire them in the kitchen to explore different flavor combinations but would also take the stress off of what to make for dinner ... again!”

What parents and kids need from produce brands more than ever now is authenticity, said Brianna Shales, marketing director for Wenatchee, Wash.-based Stemilt Growers.

“We’ve been through a lot as a country in a very short time, and brands that are authentic and transparent with their consumers are going to prevail,” Shales said. “When it comes to produce, we have such a wonderful story to share: essential people that nurture and harvest our foods, family farmers that tend to these crops through multiple generations, and wholesome (and) flavorful products that make healthy eating fun. It’s a great time for us to tell the stories that make our companies and brands unique and desirable because these are the stories that matter to consumers.”

Developing digital content that resonates is essential for the industry because produce brands aren’t the only ones trying to influence consumers in that arena.

“I have shared with a number of people over the last (six-plus) months that we are heading into a content war for share of screen time,” Veillon said. “I noted in a LinkedIn post last week this same statement that we are battling CPG for screen time, and even though we cannot compete on financial level, the emotional pull of our products, being as healthy and relevant as they are, will continue to help us build our share of the plate.”