Marketing To Kids
Fun merchandising techniques and creative in-store programs will get kids and parents attention when it comes to buying healthful snacks.
By Carol Bareuther, RD
The fight against childhood obesity got a shot in the arm in February when First Lady Michelle Obama announced her Let's Move campaign, a number of initiatives that focus on nutrition and exercise and are designed to create a healthier generation. This is definitely a battle worth waging. The number of overweight kids ages 6 to 19 has tripled since 1970, according to a 2007 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
At the same time, results of the Hockessin, DE-based Produce for Better Health Foundation's (PBH) fourth annual Gen X Moms' Attitudes and Beliefs Related to Fruit & Vegetable Consumption 2006-2009 study reveals that fruit intake was down 12 percent and vegetables down 6 percent, compared to 2008. The good news is that in spite of the economic downturn, the reported 2.38 servings of fruit and 2.32 servings of vegetables families consumed on average in 2009 are higher than those reported in 2007, although still far from the USDA's 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommendations of up to 13 daily servings of fruits and vegetables.
The produce industry has its work cut out. It also has an incredible opportunity to market to today and tomorrow's consumers: moms and kids.
Mike O'Brien, vice president of produce for Schnuck Market's Inc., a chain based in St. Louis, MO, speaking of the national media attention given to Let's Move, says, "Anytime the spotlight shines on healthful eating, it is good for the produce industry."
Kid Friendly Foods
What does it take to market fresh fruits and vegetables to kids? A good tasting product and, well, thinking like a kid! Sharon Blakely, food and nutrition supervisor for Save Mart Supermarkets, a Modesto, CA-based chain, reminds, "You have remember that kid's eat food, not nutrients."
A different marketing strategy is needed to reach kids versus parents. Ernst Van Eeghen, director of new product development and marketing at Salinas, CA-based Church Brothers LLC., which markets a variety of fresh vegetable products under the Disney Garden label, says, "For example, if you tell kids to eat something because it's good for them, it just won't work. You have to make it fun. That's where characters come in. Mickey is cool. Kids recognize him. If Mickey gives his thumbs-up to something, it must be okay and kids are more willing to try it."
Cool characters and catchy names really do entice kids to eat more fruits and vegetables. A 2009 study published by Cornell University's Food & Brand Lab revealed that when 186 four-year-olds were served carrots for lunch that were called X-ray Vision Carrots they ate nearly twice as much as on days when these were just labeled 'carrots.' What's more, researchers found that catchy names had staying power. The young children continued to eat about 50 percent more carrots even on the days when they were no longer labeled.
On the other hand, notes Van Eeghen, "Parents need clear insights and ideas about the health benefits of a food. They also need tips about how to get their kids engaged with fresh produce. It's okay for kids to play with their food, whether it's during the cooking or snacking process. This is the kind of messaging we put on our packaging."
Convenience is another big purchase driver. The consumer packaged goods industry has known this for years, tempting kids with single-serve bags of cookies and chips, for example, and providing moms with an easy snack solution.
Dino DiLaudo, a sales associate at Westmoreland Sales, in Leamington, ON, Canada, says, "We think it's important to make healthful snack options available to kids. It gives parents options and puts fresh vegetables on a level playing field with other snack items." Last year, the company partnered with NY-based Nickelodeon in a licensing agreement to use characters such as SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora the Explorer and Diego of Go Diego on snack-sized packages of mini cucumbers and tomatoes.
Sliced apples are another popular and convenient fresh-cut produce item kids enjoy, says Tony Freytag, director of marketing for Crunch Pak LLC, in Cashmere, WA. "Many school-aged kids are missing their front teeth or have braces that make whole apples hard to eat." He adds, "We continue to see strong growth in the small snack size packs. Snack packs, as opposed to larger packs, also encourage trial by consumers who might not have tried the product in the past. The downside is the trading down people might do if only snack size packs were offered. It is always a balance."
The U.S. Department of Agriculture purchased of over $4 million in fresh-cut sliced apples for national school lunch programs last year. Freytag expects this, and the company's launch of its Burger King-branded Apple Fries -- peeled apples cut into French fry shape -- in more than 10,000 supermarkets nationwide will have a positive effect at retail. "I think we're getting to the point where kids will recognize the product from trying it at school or at Burger King and ask their parents to buy it for them at the grocery store," he explains.
Playful Displays
Kids may not be the primary shopper, but they do have valuable influence on the types of products parents purchase. Melinda Goodman, director of marketing for Imagination Farms LLC, in Indianapolis, IN, says, "We need to provide more healthful products like fruits and vegetables and focus on making them specifically for kids. This will create more merchandising opportunities for retailers to develop comprehensive kid-specific sections."
There are lots of kid-friendly produce items to choose from at Publix Super Markets Inc., a Lakeland, FL-based chain. Maria Brous, director of media and community relations, says, "We offer a wide-range of products for our customers to choose from in our produce departments such as convenient snack packs of apples, apples and grapes, carrots and dip, snack packs that contain apple or orange juice, grapes and other fruits depending on season."
Crunch Pak's Freytag points out, "Many retailers have created a snacking set within the produce department. Within this, we've seen sliced apples become a destination of their own as retailers find this category a bigger piece of their business." Crunch Pak markets a variety of sliced apple products from single-serve to family-sized packs as well as clamshells holding multiple single-serve packages and snack-sized trays that combine apples with other foods such as caramel, cheese, pretzels and peanut butter.
Beyond apples, Church Brothers' Van Eeghen says, "Some retailers have built snack sets with a number of items while others offer smaller sets of perhaps a dozen or so products. Either way, ideally, a percentage of these items should be specifically for kids. Use point-of-sale materials such as shelf strips underlining the kid-friendly products to call attention to them and danglers because they are playful."
In order to make kid-friendly products easier for kids and moms to see, Church Brothers has recently introduced a cardboard display tray that holds a box of eight Disney Garden-branded Foodles in the upright position on the shelf. Foodles are a line of value-added fruits and vegetables paired with other items such as dips, raisins, cheese or crackers in a colorful Mickey-shaped tray.
Regarding the Disney Garden brand, Goodman says, "We need to create environments that allow the brand to stand out and get noticed among the multitude of products on shelves. Ways to accomplish this are through large displays, unique merchandising, point-of-sale and-cross merchandising opportunities." She adds, "A great opportunity to leverage the power of the Disney brand is through cross-merchandising Disney Garden items with a Disney DVD release. We have worked with Walt Disney Studios & Home Entertainment to provide promotions that include an in-store consumer offer to buy the DVD and get a Disney Garden product free. This cross-merchandising opportunity creates a natural tie to wholesome family entertainment paired with healthful snack alternatives."
One step further, Save Mart's Blakely adds, "I'd eventually like to see us have a produce counter that is set at a lower, kid-friendly height. This would allow for great food theater with displays of produce like cute tangerines, pluots and apple pears. There could be a poster in front and in-store activities, like reading, at the display."
Produce Department As Playground
Save Mart Supermarkets host Super Kids Saturdays, a two-hour, in-store activity held at select stores that features activities such as sampling fresh produce, meeting farmers and participating in a cooking or other food-related activity.
Last fall, Bashas' Inc., a chain headquartered in Chandler, AZ, hosted an indoor-outdoor festival that featured many locally grown products such as tomatoes, melons, citrus and lettuce. As part of this, says Barbara Ruhs, MS, RD, LDN, the chain's corporate dietitian, "We set up a station outside where kids could paint their own pumpkins. In-store, kids could trick or treat through all the departments, including produce."
Ruhs also provides healthful eating information to kids and adults alike via Bashas' Health Styles newsletter, which is distributed in-store. "I was looking for a way to get greater pick up by shoppers," explains Ruhs. "So this past fall, I decided to work with vendors and include manufacturer's coupons. Starting with the September/October issue, I also decided to feature some type of produce on the cover. I check with our produce guys to see what is in season for each newsletter." A recipe for Grilled Hawaiian Luau Chicken or Shrimp Skewers, which calls for fresh pineapple, a red and green bell pepper, red onion, cilantro and cherry tomatoes, was featured on the cover of the September/October 2009 issue along with a $1-off coupon for the purchase of two mesh packs of Desert Glory Nature Sweet vine-ripe tomatoes. Each Bashas' Heath Styles newsletter includes a Bashas' Supermarket School House kid's page. Jokes, fun facts, word finds, puzzles and games are also included in each issue.
A kid's page is also a feature of the bi-monthly HealthCents newsletter offered to customers at Redner's Markets Inc., a 38-store chain based in West Lawn, PA. Meredith Mensinger, RD, LDN, corporate dietitian, says, "The kid's pages center around fresh produce. For example, one issue was all about pears -- fun facts, simple preparation techniques and a recipe for Pear Kabobs with Strawberry Dipping Sauce."
Many retailers market to kids and families as part of their participation in Produce for Kids (PFK), an Orlando, FL-based cause marketing organization that works with the produce industry to promote healthful eating for kids and raises funds for non-profit organizations such as the Children's Miracle Network (CMN) and PBS KIDS. Publix's Brous says, "For the past several years, we've partnered with Produce for Kids to teach children and families the importance of fruits and vegetables in their diets. The designated events take place in June, during our CMN campaign, and again in the fall with back-to-school. Essentially, we've created in-store events that encourage child/parent involvement, from word finds to cross word puzzles and even kids' cooking demonstrations at our Apron's Simple Meals kiosks. The idea is to get the kids interested in learning the benefits of a healthful diet in a fun way."
There is also an in-store cooking club at Price Chopper Supermarkets, a chain headquartered in Schenectady, NY. Kari Volyn, PFK communications director, says, "Price Chopper recently hired a new chef specifically to do kids' cooking. We will be partnering with Price Chopper on the kids' cooking program this year, using it as an additional opportunity to promote participating sponsors products."
Last fall, PFK and PBS Kids joined forces for the second year in a row on the multi-faceted Eat Smart for a Great Start campaign. Five retailers -- Publix, Meijer, Kroger's Delta division, Price Chopper and GIANT Foods' Carlisle division -- participated. The in-store portion of this marketing campaign included point-of-sale material that educated shoppers about healthful eating and drove them online to PFK's Web site for additional healthful eating information and recipes using sponsors products. The campaign's messages were also communicated through advertising in the participating retailer's circulars, announcements on in-store radio, public relations activities and Internet marketing activities that featured online games and activities for kids as well as resources for parents and teachers.
"This year," says Volyn, "our consumer research showed that moms want information about healthful cooking in the produce department. As a result, we are expanding our program to feature a healthful meal solutions program merchandised in-store on recipe-sized cards a well as online. The cards contain easy, fast tips for shopping and assembling healthful meals using sponsored products. The meal solution cards are based on a complete meal, including an entree, side dish and beverage, and meet the USDA dietary guidelines."
Reaching Out To The Local And Cyber Community
A great opportunity for retailers is to work with local schools to provide store tours, says Imagination Farm's Goodman. "The store tours provide valuable education about different types of fruits and vegetables, how to select and store fruits and vegetables and the importance of healthful eating."
Jill LeBrasseur, PBH's communications specialist, says, "Our Take Your Kids to the Supermarket promotion and Supermarket School Tour information are great ways to get kids and parents into the store and talking about proper nutrition, including healthful fruits and vegetables."
In addition to school tours, Publix's Brous says, "Many of our stores participate in a report card program where students can bring in their report card and receive food rewards for their good grades. For instance, they can choose a bag of apples."
Save Mart Supermarkets provide free coupons for apples or bananas to schoolchildren, notes Blakely. "Schools hand them out as an incentive for attendance or for participation in a reading program. It puts a whole new mindset on fresh produce. Instead of 'I have to' its 'I get to' with the coupon. Last year, we handed out over 100,000 and had a redemption rate of 8 to 10 percent."
Further a field, supermarket dietitians work with community groups to teach good nutrition to kids. For example, this winter, Redner's Mensinger set up a mock supermarket, including a produce department, in the cafeteria of a local middle school and showed more than150 girl scouts how to shop wisely and economically."
Meijer, a Walker, MI-based chain, educates families in its communities through several outreach initiatives as part of its PFK participation. One of these includes the Meijer/WOTV 4 Park Parties that attract over 30,000 Michigan residents. Meijer's Healthy Living team of Registered Dietitians staff the events and distribute nutrition information, sponsors coupons and healthful fresh produce snacks.
Bashas' Ruhs reaches out into the cyber community to a following of customers and other fans on Twitter. "Educational tweeting has become popular, especially for busy moms," she says. "I'll send out fun 'Did you knows?' For example, I tweeted last week about pistachios being a healthful treat. Also, I tweeted that pomegranate juice is loaded with vitamin C. It's a great ways to connect with customers and provide information they want."
PULLQUOTES
"If you tell kids to eat something because it's good for them, it just won't work. You have to make it fun. That's where characters come in. If Mickey gives his thumbs-up to something, it must be okay and kids are more willing to try it."
-- Ernst Van Eeghen
Church Brothers LLC.
"Many of our stores participate in a report card program where students can bring in their report card and receive food rewards for their good grades. For instance, they can choose a bag of apples."
-- Maria Brous
Publix Super Markets Inc.
Back >>
