Mushrooms earn Weight Watchers' Pick of the Season designation
Mushrooms earn Weight Watchers' Pick of the Season designation
The Mushroom Council is the latest fresh-produce industry group to partner with Weight Watchers.
There will be a variety of national promotions surrounding mushrooms being tagged as Weight Watcher's Pick of the Season from July through September. The National Watermelon Promotion Board has twice worked with Weight Watchers, enjoying the status of Weight Watchers Pick of the Season.
According to a press release issued by the council, the partnership with Weight Watchers is "a major health initiative that spotlights how fruits and vegetables can be part of a healthy lifestyle. The Pick of the Season program could have the capability to double the impact of previous mushroom promotions. The Mushroom Council will involve retailers and shippers by placing the Weight Watchers Pick of the Season and 'POINTS value' logos per serving on pack. A two-cup serving of savory and satisfying nutrient-rich mushrooms has a 'POINTS value' of zero."
Citing a recent national survey published by the Calorie Control Council, the Mushroom Council indicated that 95 million U.S. adults have an interest in losing weight. The majority of adults surveyed identify poor eating habits (91 percent), lack of portion control (86 percent) and eating too many calories (83 percent) as top reasons for being overweight. Fresh mushrooms, which provide satiety with fewer calories per serving than a rice cake, may offer another solution for millions of weight-conscious Americans.
The Mushroom Council and Weight Watchers will communicate the Pick of the Season promotion through several channels, such as in-store radio advertising and NewsAmerica POS. Pick of the Season will be communicated with usage ideas directly to Weight Watchers members nationwide and will be covered by local newspapers.
"Our experience tells us the success of the Pick of the Season program truly hinges on a high level of involvement -- particularly early on -- from retailers and shippers," said Gordon Hunt, director of marketing for the National Watermelon Promotion Board. "When the industry embraces the program, the awareness level among consumers is taken to a whole new level. We found the Pick of the Season program to be really valuable. In fact, we're a two-time sponsor."
The Mushroom Council said that preliminary research suggests that simply substituting mushrooms for meat may be an effective method of reducing calorie and fat intake. The July issue of Shape magazine will highlight this new research.
Mushrooms will be promoted as Pick of the Season by three specific marketing tools:
-- Three months of in-store radio advertising (July 1-Sept. 30), along with one cycle of NewsAmerica POS (Aug. 11-Sept. 7) in the produce section, reaching millions of Americans. Ads will highlight mushrooms' nutritional benefits in addition to reminding shoppers of their "0 POINTS" value per serving.
-- Weight Watchers will produce and distribute 1 million recipe cards featuring Mushroom Council-produced recipes: Mini Mushroom Burgers (POINTS value of 2), Tilapia with Mushrooms, Olives and Tomatoes (POINTS value of 4), Turkey Mushroom Soup (POINTS value of 2) and Mushroom Chicken Piccata (POINTS value of 4).
-- A Weight Watchers featured story, highlighting the Mushroom Council and Weight Watchers recipes, will be placed on a wire distributed to more than 3,000 newspapers nationwide. More than 10,000 newspapers will receive information and recipes through a pre-packaged news release.
There will be a variety of national promotions surrounding mushrooms being tagged as Weight Watcher's Pick of the Season from July through September. The National Watermelon Promotion Board has twice worked with Weight Watchers, enjoying the status of Weight Watchers Pick of the Season.
According to a press release issued by the council, the partnership with Weight Watchers is "a major health initiative that spotlights how fruits and vegetables can be part of a healthy lifestyle. The Pick of the Season program could have the capability to double the impact of previous mushroom promotions. The Mushroom Council will involve retailers and shippers by placing the Weight Watchers Pick of the Season and 'POINTS value' logos per serving on pack. A two-cup serving of savory and satisfying nutrient-rich mushrooms has a 'POINTS value' of zero."
Citing a recent national survey published by the Calorie Control Council, the Mushroom Council indicated that 95 million U.S. adults have an interest in losing weight. The majority of adults surveyed identify poor eating habits (91 percent), lack of portion control (86 percent) and eating too many calories (83 percent) as top reasons for being overweight. Fresh mushrooms, which provide satiety with fewer calories per serving than a rice cake, may offer another solution for millions of weight-conscious Americans.
The Mushroom Council and Weight Watchers will communicate the Pick of the Season promotion through several channels, such as in-store radio advertising and NewsAmerica POS. Pick of the Season will be communicated with usage ideas directly to Weight Watchers members nationwide and will be covered by local newspapers.
"Our experience tells us the success of the Pick of the Season program truly hinges on a high level of involvement -- particularly early on -- from retailers and shippers," said Gordon Hunt, director of marketing for the National Watermelon Promotion Board. "When the industry embraces the program, the awareness level among consumers is taken to a whole new level. We found the Pick of the Season program to be really valuable. In fact, we're a two-time sponsor."
The Mushroom Council said that preliminary research suggests that simply substituting mushrooms for meat may be an effective method of reducing calorie and fat intake. The July issue of Shape magazine will highlight this new research.
Mushrooms will be promoted as Pick of the Season by three specific marketing tools:
-- Three months of in-store radio advertising (July 1-Sept. 30), along with one cycle of NewsAmerica POS (Aug. 11-Sept. 7) in the produce section, reaching millions of Americans. Ads will highlight mushrooms' nutritional benefits in addition to reminding shoppers of their "0 POINTS" value per serving.
-- Weight Watchers will produce and distribute 1 million recipe cards featuring Mushroom Council-produced recipes: Mini Mushroom Burgers (POINTS value of 2), Tilapia with Mushrooms, Olives and Tomatoes (POINTS value of 4), Turkey Mushroom Soup (POINTS value of 2) and Mushroom Chicken Piccata (POINTS value of 4).
-- A Weight Watchers featured story, highlighting the Mushroom Council and Weight Watchers recipes, will be placed on a wire distributed to more than 3,000 newspapers nationwide. More than 10,000 newspapers will receive information and recipes through a pre-packaged news release.
