Supermarket Perimeter - January 2019 - 51

What's left, Whitney says, are key smaller baskets of
growing categories like refrigerated salsa, where brands
have the opportunity to build shopper relationships and
bring them to the produce set.

Stronger brand, higher price points
Consumers are hesitant to take chances on quality,
Strachan says. They would rather pay a little more for
branded to be sure they're getting what they want.
"Customers know the quality they're getting with
the Green Giant Fresh brand. We also continue to deliver
on innovative new products like Cauliﬂower Crumbles
and the evolution of that product into a meal bowl to
create even more value-added products."
Growers Express's grower partners know that the
company has its ﬁnger on the pulse of trends and business opportunities, Strachan says. That creates trust that
Growers Express is continuing to grow the categories
and their partner's business.
Getting the word out about the virtues of branding
in the fresh produce realm have changed as technology
has changed, Strachan says. Some of the more recent
opportunities to "persuade" consumers, he says, involve
leveraging the digital and social media landscape,
particularly as it relates to the credibility of third-party
endorsements and user-generated content.
"Word-of-mouth marketing through social media
channels is very important," he says. "Consumers are
consuming media in many ways and rely on their network to provide recommendations and feedback."

Today, most major growershippers and even smaller
regional players have made
investments in branding
and marketing to not only
be more competitive, but
to be more appealing."
Melinda Goodman, Full Tilt Marketing

BRANDING: "A VISUAL CUE FOR QUALITY AND TRUST"
There are still mixed opinions
as to the value of branding in
fresh produce, says Melinda
Goodman, president of consultancy Full Tilt Marketing.
"Some might say it's the
difference in old school and
new school thinking," she says.
"Some argue that because
produce competes for brand
space at
the trade
buyer level
and the
consumer
only has

one choice for each product
once they arrive in store, brand
doesn't matter."
But fresh produce is often the
ﬁrst thing consumers see when
they enter the grocery store,
which gives fruits and vegetables the opportunity to make
the biggest branding impact.
"Branding is clearly on the
rise," Goodman says. "Retailers know that branding matters. It's a visual cue for quality
and trust - as well as triggering
consumer interest."

Consumers, especially millennials, have a new expectation
about the types of products
they buy, Goodman adds. They
want products to be more
transparent, as well interesting so it feels customized just
for them.
"The biggest challenge for
fresh produce branding has
been overcoming the 'every
consumer is my consumer' approach," Goodman says. "Most
brands select a core demographic and build a brand and
a message that caters to that

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speciﬁc consumer segment.
Produce has historically been
afraid to follow that path in
favor of 'all in' marketing that
speaks to everyone for fear
of leaving someone out and
missing sales."
But the reality, Goodman says,
is that most produce companies have small marketing
budgets, making it impossible to generate far-reaching
campaigns. Greater attention,
therefore, should be placed on
creating more sales with a core
demographic audience.

JANUARY 2019 - 51

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Supermarket Perimeter - January 2019

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