Bloggers take center stage at Fresh Produce & Floral Council luncheon
Bloggers take center stage at Fresh Produce & Floral Council luncheon
CERRITOS, CA — A trio of food bloggers was involved in a panel discussion about their choice of work at the membership luncheon of the Fresh Produce & Floral Council, held Oct. 10, here.
Jin Ju Wilder of Status Gro in Pasadena, CA, led the three Southern California women in a discussion about where they get their information and how produce industry firms can get involved in a food blog.
Dorothy Reinhold, who blogs at ShockinglyDelicious.com, said
Dick Spezzano (center) of Spezzano Consulting with David Cruz and Jan DeLyser of the California Avocado Commission. (Photos by Tim Linden) that just like any publication, there is both “earned” and “bought” messaging on her site. She urged produce companies to establish relationships with bloggers and feed them information. If it is interesting enough — and there is a relationship — she said most bloggers will run information from a company free of charge.
However, she said there are also sponsorship opportunities for the website and most bloggers are willing to be hired as “brand ambassadors.” In that event, they represent the brand — with full disclosure — on their site and at food events.
Priscilla Willis, another of the panelists, whose blog is called shescookin.com, said that each of these three bloggers and many others operating in this forum, often are hired by companies for recipe-development work. That’s another way to establish a relationship with a blogger, she said.
Ms. Wilder commented that the days when bloggers could be won over with only free product are long gone. She indicated that the blogging industry has matured and many operating in that space are looking for more than just a sample when spreading their influence.
However, it is still possible to make an impact by offering a unique product. An example of how the bloggers operate was Ms. Reinhold’s entry about tomatoes a day or so after the meeting. Ken Silveira, general manager of Mastronardi Produce-West LLC in Salinas, CA, was one of the sponsors of the luncheon and he was touting his super-sweet Zima tomatoes. He talked about how tomatoes are a fruit but not for use in a fruit salad unless it’s a Zima tomato. Ms. Reinhold apparently brought home a pint of tomatoes from the event, created a fruit salad with them and blogged about it.
