Retailers respond to ‘eat brighter!’ with resounding support
Retailers respond to ‘eat brighter!’ with resounding support
More than 40 retailers — representing more than 19,000 stores across the United States and Canada — support the ‘eat brighter!’ movement, and the fresh produce marketing initiative is growing both in support and offerings. Retailers have started to show strong backing for the initiative and the participating suppliers, and are eager to accept the "Sesame Street" branded product into their stores.
A series of updates has been added to the program and marketing to allow produce industry members to incorporate the Sesame Street character images, royalty-free, into their marketing strategies.
“We're delighted by the response from both the supply- and buy-side of the industry,” Cathy Burns, president of the Produce Marketing Association, said in a press release. “We’ve spoken with each and every one of these companies, and they believe in the movement to help kids eat more fruits and vegetables. They are all industry leaders, and recognize that success is defined through the collaboration and support they lend to one another.”
New updates include the following:
- Canada joins the United States as an approved region
- PLU and co-branding guidelines for packaging labels have been added
- Thematic campaigns have been added to the marketing toolkit, including Autumn, Winter/Holiday and Spring/Grow
- School foodservice and commodity boards are now approved for participation
- Spanish and French translations are now available
Companies among the earliest adopters are introducing ‘eat brighter!’ into nearly 50 product lines for retail outlets in the U.S. and Canada. For a full list of suppliers and retailers participating in the movement, visit www.pma.com/eatbrighter.
“The goal here is grand but simple — to change the conversation around fresh produce and inspire kids to think about fruits and veggies in a completely different way,” Todd Putman, chief marketing officer of Bolthouse Farms and chair of PMA’s marketing taskforce, said in the release. “The U.S. is in a serious health crisis — one-third of all kids are obese and our industry has the answer. The ‘eat brighter!’ movement is exactly what we need to help the entire industry come together, change that conversation, and ultimately create healthier generations for decades to come.”
