How companies encourage families with young kids to eat more produce

Families with young children are always pulled in a lot of directions, so to sell more fresh produce to them, it not only has to be appealing and accessible, it has to be easy.

And in the spring, our youngest consumers and their parents in the North are emerging outdoors and ramping up their activities, while southern families, well, they’re out year-round.

“We see a huge spike in traffic to our Healthy Family Project website and social media platforms as the weather warms and when locally grown starts to appear in the North,” said Amanda Keefer, managing director of the cause-marketing organization based in Orlando, Fla. “This makes it a great time to capitalize on shoppers who are in the zone to try new things — showcasing lesser-known produce items or items that need a sales boost next to products that typically fly off the shelves.”

Founded by Reidsville, Ga.-based Shuman Farms, Healthy Family Project promotes nutritious meal and snack ideas to families and raises money for Feeding America, a nationwide network of food banks.

Related news: Healthy Family Project zeroes in on retail dietitians, school nutrition directors

Produce marketers know convenience appeals to children, as well as adults.

Apple sales in elementary schools jumped an average of 61% when the fruit was sliced, according to a pilot study cited in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine.

That’s why Okanagan Specialty Fruits, based in Summerland, British Columbia, sells Arctic apples pre-sliced, said Rebecca Catlett, director of marketing and communications.

“We are focusing on growing our K-12 school business,” Catlett said. “Our pre-sliced and pre-diced Arctic apple varieties help reduce labor and prep time and offer a 28-day shelf life to help reduce unnecessary waste. This makes it easier for school nutrition programs to incorporate more apples into their menus where they might not have been able to before.”

Okanagan makes a 2-ounce package option — “the perfect size for little hands,” she said, as well as 5- and 10-ounce packages for convenient snack options for the whole family, whether it be in the car, on a hike or at soccer games. The 40-ounce foodservice packs are geared to school nutrition programs. Okanagan also co-packs with peanut butter or caramel for fruit-dipping.

The packaging is designed mostly for parents, but the packaging window enables children to see the slices.

“It is important for us to craft messaging directly to [parents] that conveys the nutritional, convenience and sustainability benefits of our products,” Catlett said.

Listen to our 'Tip of the Iceberg' podcast: Amanda Keefer gives tips for produce-filled families meals on a budget

Kingsville, Ontario-based Mastronardi Produce inspires children to eat healthy through its products, packaging and promotions.

“Kids tend to like lower-acid or sweeter fruits and veggies, and many of our healthy snacking products include sweeter varietals. We also produce textures that are easy for kiddos to eat,” said Julia Shreve, director of marketing, brand and innovation at Mastronardi.

The company grows produce in greenhouses and markets products under the Sunset brand, including Campari, Angel Sweet and Flavor Bombs tomatoes.

Bright, attention-grabbing packaging made easy for kids to use independently is also important.

As for promotions, “we strive to connect with parents through empathy, authenticity and relatability,” she said.

Mastronardi is launching three new takes on snacking classics for families this spring: Sprinkles three-pack of micro-grape tomatoes; Qukes & Dip in three single-serving packs, each containing tiny, two-bite cucumbers with ranch dip; and Angel Sweet & Dip, grape tomatoes in a three-pack with ranch dip.

Focusing on children and families, Dole Food Co. Inc. has started its "Dole Healthy Heroes, Assemble!" initiative, a nine-month partnership using Marvel Super Heroes such as Spider-Man, Iron Man and Ant-Man, as well as Black Panther, Black Widow and Groot.

The program targets everyday heroes in four categories – mind, soul, heart and home – during six-week recruitment campaigns featuring new, Marvel character-inspired recipes, original Dole banana stickers and Dole pineapple tags, digital downloads, in-store activations and prizes awarded to inspiring heroes at the end of each period.  

“Motivated by our friends at Marvel, we salute those everyday protectors and providers of a healthier, happier and more heroic life,” William Goldfield, Dole’s director of corporate communications, said in a news release.

At retail, Healthy Family Project has a spring roster of activities through its Produce for Kids program.

The program is in action at Springdale, Ark.-based Harps supermarket locations, where produce employees will wear “Fruits & Veggies & Giving Back” T-shirts during the spring season. On the back of the shirts are the campaign’s produce partner logos. Produce employees hand out Produce for Kids Bucks that allow children to sample a fresh produce item and use their buck as a credit to pay for the item.

Also in the spring, military children in preschool groups will attend scavenger hunts in the produce departments of 93 Military Produce Group commissaries.

“Healthy Family Project created the script for the produce managers to utilize and feature the campaign partners who are giving back to Our Military Kids,” Keefer said. “It’s super cute.”

Our Military Kids is a program that empowers military children with sports, arts and other activities while their parents are deployed or recovering from severe injuries sustained in combat. Participating in these activities can help them cope with stress and build self-confidence during this difficult time in their lives. The campaign has raised $13,000 to support grants for military children.

In March, Healthy Family Project held its Mission for Nutrition promotion, providing resource kits to connect retail dietitians with children and families in stores and school nutrition directors with students.

The campaign aligned health-conscious brands with more than 400 retail dietitians at 52 retailers, as well as school nutrition directors in more than 100 schools. There was a mini-magazine, contest, scholarship, extra recipes and multipronged social media efforts.