In early March, California Giant Berry Farms, based in Watsonville, CA, released a “Food Waste Free” e-book to support the growing concern in the United States about food waste. In typical Cal Giant fashion, this information was released to its tens of thousands of followers through its many social media touchpoints.

Food waste is a growing concern in the United States and it’s no secret that berries are a highly perishable item. In its verbiage about the concept, Cal Giant told its customers and the produce industry that it “decided to turn this negative into a positive and created an e-book called ‘Food Waste Free’ to help consumers find new ways to use up those berries in the fridge that may be at the end of their shelf life.” 

Providing ways to use all berries and reducing waste is another way to provide shoppers with quick and easy solutions they desperately search for every day, the company said. The e-book contains easy ways to help shop, plan and prep food reducing overall waste and features some delicious and fun recipes that utilize California Giant berries in various stages of shelf life.

The idea of the book is innovative; reaching its most loyal consumers through the internet via an e-book and other messaging has become a way of life for this longtime strawberry grower-shipper.

Cal Giant is partnering with three firms, including a blender company, for it’s spring promotion running late March into May.Cindy Jewell, vice present of marketing, has long been advocating using the internet to market efficiently and inexpensively directly to the consumer. Cal Giant is constantly adding to its email list and is regularly sending promotions and information to that group of people. Often the company teams up with like-minded firms to expand the reach of each promotion. For example, in one recent promotion it partnered with three other firms on an internet-based program. By doing so the promotion reached almost one million loyal customers and generated 100,000 followers for that particular promotion.

“We recently had 25,000 entrants trying to win one blender,” she marveled.

Other promotions she said have had 70,000 to 100,000 entrants. Each of these entrants is engaging with the various partners and basically agreeing to participate in direct marketing.

Armed with this information, including the store that the consumer buys at, Cal Giant works with retailers on promotional opportunities. She said retailers love this kind of information as they are in the business of trying to tailor promotions to fit their own customer’s needs.

Jewel said the company is always looking to partner with firms that share its vision of marketing in the 21st Century.

“We are using social (media) to have a conversation with the consumer and provide value as they perceive it,” she said. “For us it’s all about brand loyalty. That’s what we are trying to build.”

For example, for its spring promotion — running late March into May — Cal Giant is partnering with three firms, including a blender company. This sweepstakes “will include a themed e-book packed with recipes focused on spring and smoothies,” Jewel said. “We will offer three restaurant-quality blenders from Blendtec.  Each of the recipes will feature our branded products  — driving trial, brand awareness and loyalty.” In order to get the e-book, consumers have to provide the sponsors demographic information that will “provide us with intelligence and help to build our database.”

The company also has an internet newsletter aimed at the trade, which Jewel said is getting very good traction. She said signups are increasing each week and website analytics note that buyers and other industry personnel are navigating the site and looking for information. Among the data available is up-to-date market information.

Speaking on Monday, March 7, after all of the California strawberry production areas were drenched with two to five inches of rain over the previous weekend, Jewel said volume would be lagging for a few days but growers will work through it fairly quickly. In fact, the rain was a welcome sight and should boost production moving forward. Thus far this season, production has been slow in coming because of weather and a decrease in acreage on the early end of the deal. But Jewel was confident that April will see plenty of volume and many opportunities for promotion. In fact, she said with Easter falling in March, and no April holiday, the f.o.b. price should be very attractive for promotional purposes.