Grimmway uses social media for consumer touch points
Grimmway uses social media for consumer touch points
The tie-in over the past year with “The Biggest Loser” television show continues to pay dividends for Grimmway Farms and create touch points with consumers, though the show’s finale aired in early February.
Vice President of Marketing Bob Borda said the sponsorship of that show produced a number of ongoing partnerships and activities that the Bakersfield, CA, carrot grower-shipper continues to capitalize on to promote its various carrot packs. Chief among those is a weekly “Twitter Party” that Grimmway hosted throughout the television season. That party featured a Biggest Loser contestant who led the many participants in a discussion as they shared tips and recipes and challenges in their effort to create a healthier lifestyle. Borda said that “Twitter Party” has continued on a weekly basis and still garners the most participants during its 30-minute time frame.
He said participants are basically socializing with the friends they have met through the Twitter feed over the course of the year as they watched the progress of the contestants on The Biggest Loser and often compared their own successes and challenges to lose weight.
While that social media activity, as well as others that Grimmway Farm supports and participates in, has a measurable amount of significant engagement, Borda admits that at the end of the day it is difficult to measure just how much that engagement equates to increased sales. However, he believes having a presence on social media sites is a must for a company like Grimmway Farms, and in some ways, the numbers speak for themselves.
Carrot sales continue to increase as consumers are purchasing the many different carrots products offered from value-added snack packs to whole bunch carrots.
For 2014 , Borda said Grimmway is focusing on the developing of some new products as well as diversifying its own growing regions. This year for the first time, the firm will be sourcing carrots from eastern Washington during the summer months. While the Grimmway executive does not expect the California drought to greatly impact this year’s carrot crop, he said the additional acreage in Washington does give the firm more options moving forward.
