Promote Produce This Fall

Fall is harvest time, with literally a cornucopia of fruits and vegetables spilling forth to savor. It’s also a great time to start new plans for eating produce for healthier living.

One example is Coborn’s Albertville, Minn., location, which hosts dietitian-led Kid’s Creation classes once or twice per month, “During these classes, kids make two to three recipes that include in-season fruits and veggies,” says Bridget Winkelman, farmers market and floral manager for St. Cloud, Minn.-based Coborn’s. The goal of the classes is to help children build their confidence in the kitchen and expose them to new types of foods as well as healthy portion sizes.

Coborn’s has just started a One More initiative in which, throughout produce departments, signage promotes one more serving of various fruits and vegetables, along with nutrition facts, according to Winkelman. Through the program, Coborn’s is able to offer additional education centered on produce benefits. Employees also participate through fresh, local and in-season produce events at employee wellness presentations year-round. The supermarket chain additionally promotes Dietitian’s Choice items, including produce.

Have a Plant

The nonprofit Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH) is the only national organization dedicated to helping consumers live healthy lives by eating more fruits and vegetables. There’s a new wave of consumers who refer to eating produce as plant-based eating. To appeal to consumers – in particular, Millennials and Gen Z – as their views change, Brentwood, Mo.-based PBH is replacing its Fruits & Veggies — More Matters public education program with Have a Plant, including a new logo.    

Research shows that consumers in the college and university segments, such as Millennial and Gen Z consumers, are especially receptive to plant-forward dishes and snacks. Further, a growing number of foodservice operators, including fast-casual restaurants as well as retail foodservice, are taking significant steps to place plants at the center of the plate.

“That’s why we’re introducing Have a Plant,” explains Wendy Reinhardt Kapsak, PBH president and CEO. “Rooted in nutrition science and extensive consumer and behavioral insights, Have a Plant was created to answer consumers’ call for a simple, straightforward dialogue that speaks to their emotional food drivers, and gets to the root of what all fruits and vegetables are – plants.” 

Consumers crave a sensible approach in the brands they follow. That’s why this movement is simple, understandable and nonprescriptive, yet inclusive of all types and forms of fruits and vegetables – fresh, frozen, canned, dried and 100 percent juice, Kapsak observes, adding that the program has moved on from recommending that consumers eat a certain amount of fruits and vegetables per day.

To join the movement, produce managers can:

• Support the Have a Plant message in day-to-day activities by activating in-store messaging with PBH’s brand guidelines on its website
• Consider putting Have a Plant’s logo on produce bags in store
• Activate a retail partnership with PBH through the Powerful Produce Pairings partnership program on the website

Tech-savvy Millennial and Gen Z consumers crave food inspiration through various digital channels, so PBH is launching what it refers to as “a visually stimulating and highly interactive” website.

According to Kapsak, the above-mentioned demographic groups are inspired by individuals, including health-and-wellness professionals and beyond. To that end, PBH has created a new network of 16 Fruit & Vegetable Ambassadors in Action comprising registered dietitians, chefs, sports nutrition and fitness gurus, and lifestyle experts, to offer consumers actionable, no-nonsense advice about enjoying more fruits and vegetables every day.