Rich Rewards
The produce department is ground zero for antioxidant-rich promotions, which are ripe for the picking.
Although the word "antioxidant" appears ever more frequently on the labels of multiple products around the store, many grocers seem content to let the products that offer the largest nutritional payload — fresh fruits and vegetables — and that often set the store's total freshness statement, sell themselves.
But several fresh produce suppliers are setting out to change that, including Delano, Calif.-based Pandol Bros., Inc., which is striving to enlighten consumers about the powerful antioxidant resveratrol, which is found naturally in the skins of grapes.
While fresh grapes are known to contain at least 500 types of phytonutrient antioxidants, Pandol Bros. brings a powerful message to consumers — that resveratrol in grape skins plays a crucial role in protecting the heart — with the collaborative help of retail partners, dietitians, food editors and other constituents.
Although it's been established that grapes pack a sound nutritional punch, the potential benefits of their phytonutrient- and antioxidant-rich resveratrol content should prove helpful to both consumers and retailers. According to Tristan Kieva, Pandol's director of marketing and business development: "Resveratrol has been shown to be a potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent, and has the potential to positively impact a variety of health issues."
The company's campaign has received guidance from Dr. Stephen Pandol, M.D., a member of the multigenerational farming family as well as a professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Although Dr. Pandol chose not to assume a role in the family farms, he holds a strong appreciation for the role of food in our overall health. This interest led him to a career in medicine and medical research, and specifically to the field of gastroenterology.
Continues Kieva, "We are fortunate to benefit from the expertise of Dr. Pandol, who has shared with us published research conducted by others, and is helping to bring it to a consumer level of understanding."
Overall, grapes contain so many antioxidants that they're second only to pomegranates and ahead of blueberries. Eating a bunch of grapes provides much of the same benefit from resveratrol, with the highest concentration in the skin, as found in red wine, but without the risks of alcohol. It thus goes without saying that Pandol Bros. is pumped about getting this information out to consumers.
Kieva cites surveys that a growing number of consumers regularly read ingredient labels for nutritional information and are increasingly interested in purchasing foods with recognized health benefits. The company, she explains, has identified a ripe opportunity at retail to significantly heighten the positive information emerging about resveratrol, as well as the results of other studies suggesting potential anti-cancer, anti-aging, anti-viral and other protective effects.
"While grapes continue to be a highly popular and convenient snack item, as consumers learn more about resveratrol, we see its potential to create more demand across the category," says Kieva, citing related marketing materials available on www.Twitter.com/GoodsOnGrapes; www.pandol.com/index.php/consumer-benefits/the-goods-on-grapes; www.pandol.com/index.php/consumer-benefits/dr-pandol; and www.pandol.com/index.php/consumer-benefits/grape-enjoyment.
Pink Lady Weighs In
Being a produce industry pioneer is taking on yet another dimension for Pink Lady brand apples as it joins a distinguished list of associations teaming with the new Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation (HWCF), a national multiyear effort designed to help reduce obesity — especially childhood obesity — by 2015. First organized in the fall of 2009, the HWCF was initially made up of 40 member companies, including retailers like Safeway, Hy-Vee and Schnucks Markets; manufacturers including Campbell's, Sara Lee and ConAgra Foods; and nonprofit organizations and trade associations, all of which collectively have committed some $20 million to the effort.
According to Alan Taylor, marketing director at Yakima, Wash.-based Pink Lady America, LLC, the brand is shifting into high gear to tout its new alliance as an HWCF partner: "It puts the Pink Lady brand apple in a very unique position as not only the first ‘partner apple,' but it [also] opens up a number of new opportunities to be involved with many others in the obesity battle."
Pink Lady America joins its associate, Passport to Health — a children's health education program coordinated by the Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital Charitable Foundation in central Washington area schools since 1991 — as a partner in the HWCF. From 2005 to 2007, the brand was the first (and still only) apple in the American Heart Association food certification program.
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For additional produce news, visit www.progressivegrocer.com.