Marketing Third Party Labels to Consumers

Marketing Third Party Labels to Consumers

Best practices to leverage certifications at the retail shelf

Certifications go a long way to assure consumers and B2B customers of product quality, brand value and commitment to trust. Third party labels or trust marks, like USDA Certified Organic, Non-GMO Project Verified, Fair Trade Certified or Global Animal Partnership Animal Welfare Certified, are growing. According to the New Hope Network’s NEXT Trends Database, there is a 34% growth in the number of food and beverage products earning certifications. Similarly, data collected from Natural Products Expo 2019 reveals that 78% of new food and beverage products launched carried one or more certification type, and half of all food and beverage products exhibited carried two or more certification types.

I’ve conducted shopper research and manage public relations for labeling programs. As a result, I’ve created some recent thought leadership content on the topic of marketing third party labeling programs to consumers. See the links below, including a podcast and some articles, along with one slide from my presentation during a speaking engagement at the 2019 SupplySide West Show in Las Vegas. Whether you work directly for a labeling program or are a brand that has earned certifications, you’ll likely find some insights below to help your consumer marketing program.

Insights on certifications & labeling programs

• Natural Products Insider | Get more from your third party certifications www.naturalproductsinsider.com/certification/get-more-your-third-party-certifications

• Natural Products Insider | Claims and certifications: What do they mean and who cares? www.naturalproductsinsider.com/claims/claims-and-certifications-what-do-they-mean-and-who-cares

• Natural Products Insider | Exploring claims & certifications from the consumer perspective www.naturalproductsinsider.com/branding-marketing/exploring-claims-and-certifications-consumer-perspective

• Natural Products Insider Podcast | The impact of third-party certifications on shopping behaviors – podcast www.naturalproductsinsider.com/certification/impact-third-party-certifications-shopping-behaviors-podcast

How is your brand communicating that your products are better because they have third party labels?

Hungry for more? Set up a 1-hour virtual consult with Green Purse PR at →→→ www.greenpursepr.com/consult and we'll share our proprietary list of eight best practices + you'll come away with a plan to better communicate the value of your labels to consumers.

- Lisa Mabe-Konstantopoulos, Founder & CEO, Green Purse PR

Photo Tour of Whole Foods Market's New Flagship Mid-Atlantic Store | McLean, Virginia

Photo Tour of Whole Foods Market's New Flagship store in the Mid-Atlantic | Tysons Corner in McLean, Virginia

Whole Foods Market recently opened its new Mid-Atlantic flagship store in Tysons Corner located at McLean, Virginia, just outside of Washington, DC. Naturally, I needed to see the retailer’s ‘fanciest store yet’ as reported by The Washingtonian, and lucky for me, it’s super close by.

The new store is located at 1635 Boro Place, McLean, Virginia in The Boro, a new residential + commercial development by The Meridian Group and Kettler Inc. is designed for work, play and mingle and includes luxury residences, destination retail, and distinguished office spaces. With 70,000 square-foot, multi-level flagship store is a community gathering destination featuring a trendy food hall, cocktail bar, game area, outdoor patio and a self-service wine bar.

Wow; what a gorgeous store! Given that so much of my shopper research and public relations work focuses on Whole Foods Market, I’m very familiar with the different types of store formats across North America. The latest stores opened by Whole Foods Market have (and there have been several in the past few months,) are so much more than just a nice grocery store; they really are meant to be community gathering spaces. It’s the kind of place you could spend several hours at for not only grocery shopping, but also dining and socializing. I think this store is now one of my favorite locations (from a design, amenity & shopper journey perspective,) along with Midtown Atlanta, Georgia, Post Oak in Houston, Texas and the Gilman store in Berkeley, California.

Below is a photo tour of my first visit to the new Tysons store.

This store is HUGE and everything is just gorgeous. I conduct a lot of shopper-research based USA Market Tours for exporters from other countries and also Supermarket Tours for local embassies in Washington, DC who have visiting delegations of farmers or food industry businesspeople eager to learn more about grocery retail in the USA. I’ll now have a sparkly, new place to bring them that’s super convenient.

I spotted several kid-friendly areas around the store, including this super cute Whole Kids Club area offering free snacks for kids shopping in the store.

I love the design of this store; so bright and cheery.

I visited this store the week of November 10th, 2019, so holiday entertaining (Thanksgiving turkey promo) signage was in full effect.

Since I work a lot with the meat category, I was especially excited to see the meat department. Everything looked perfect! Note the new black window cling along the top of the meat case featuring my client, Global Animal Partnership’s new animal welfare certified label.

Spotted several of my clients’ products, including Atkins Ranch grass fed lamb, whose lamb loin chops were currently on sale for Amazon Prime Members.

Lots of turkeys already available, ahead of ‘turkey day,’ Thanksgiving. Nice to see the new Global Animal Partnership animal welfare certified label!

For all my honey industry folks, have a look at the honey range available here. For American standards, this is a wide selection of Manuka honey (see top shelf.)

Beautiful packaging!

Welcome to cheese Heaven, featuring some of the best cheese from around the world.

Upstairs is High Point, a 100-seat indoor/outdoor pub and game room offering several self-serve food options. This is the main gathering place. I visited the store during late morning, but come lunch time, this place was packed!

I spotted a mom’s group here fueling up on coffee and probably then later, wine. It’s the perfect spot to meet with friends. When the weather is warmer, the outdoor patio area has lots of seating, including children’s tables.

The food hall includes Officina, Genji Izakaya, Curiosity Doughnuts and Rappahannock Oyster Co.

Have you visited this new Whole Foods Market store, or perhaps one of the other new stores opened during 2019? What were your impressions? Leave a comment below to share your thoughts; I’m curious to know what you think.

According to WBJ Research, Whole Foods Market is the ninth-largest grocer in the greater Washington DC area, with 4.46% market share in 2018. The Tysons store is the grocery retailer’s 10th location in Northern Virginia.

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Want to drive sales of your products at Whole Foods Market?

If your products are sold in Whole Foods Market, work with Green Purse PR to better understand its shoppers and communicate with them. We conduct shopper research, as well as plan and implement PR & digital marketing campaigns targeting Whole Foods Market shoppers. Contact us here for more details.

Want to learn more about the American grocery retail landscape?

Work with us on one of our USA Market Trips or Supermarket Tours (Embassies, see this link.) Contact us here for more details.

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Curious to learn more about Whole Foods Market shoppers?

Purchase our syndicated research report, How to Win with Whole Foods Market Shoppers here. 

- Lisa Mabe-Konstantopoulos, CEO, Green Purse PR

Photo Tour of Whole Foods Market's 500th Store | Midtown Atlanta, Georgia

Photo Tour of Whole Foods Market's 500th Store | Midtown Atlanta, Georgia

While in Atlanta over Easter break, I visited the newly opened Midtown Atlanta location of Whole Foods Market. I needed to see first hand the retailer’s 500th milestone store. It’s gotten quite a lot of good publicity and features some fun, new amenities.

Located at 22 14th Street NW in Related Group’s Icon Midtown residential development, the new 70,000 square-foot, multi-level flagship store is a community gathering destination featuring four fast-casual eateries and more than 1,500 local items from 250 suppliers, many new to Whole Foods Market.

I visited early Saturday morning, the day before Easter. It was super peaceful before the crowds came to get their pre-Easter #WholeFoodsHaul on. Since it was early and I LOVE Allegro coffee (iced latte every day for me,) my first stop was Capital Commons, a cozy full-service Allegro coffee and espresso bar. They are early risers too; the cafe opens at 6 AM daily.

Below are some photos of the new Midtown store.

The fresh fruit and veg section is super colorful and pretty!

Look who I spotted on the Prime Member Deals board at the entrance of the store — our client, Atkins Ranch lamb from New Zealand! Nice to see Wellshire Farms’ ham on there as well — both meat brands are animal welfare certified by Global Animal Partnership.

Photo source: Atlanta Curbed

Huge meat department with gorgeous display on for Easter and Passover. I like to see those butcher case clings featuring Global Animal Partnership’s 10 year anniversary!

Look what’s featured front and center — Atkins Ranch leg of lamb, during its nationwide promo with Amazon Prime. Normally $9.99 USD per pound (in this region) for leg of lamb, the sale offered leg of lamb at just $6.99 USD per pound for Amazon Prime members. The team of butchers in this store made a gorgeous display of lamb!

Atkins Ranch’s retail ready lamb cuts are new to the South region of Whole Foods Market. Super convenient for shoppers who want to quickly grab and go.

I spy some good looking beef from White Oak Pastures, local to Georgia.

Check out these new meal kits, mostly with meat and some with fish, with some calling out “keto” or “paleo.” Very cool.

Here’s what you’ll find on the roof of the new store. There’s a space for games, eating and even yoga.

Photo source: Curbed Atlanta

Photo source: Curbed Atlanta

Curious to learn more about Whole Foods Market shoppers?

Download our report, How to Win with Whole Foods Market Shoppers here.

- Lisa Mabe-Konstantopoulos, CEO, Green Purse PR

You may also be interested in our blog post, What Amazon Prime Members Think About New Lower Prices at Whole Foods Market. Read it here.

IN THE NEWS -- Natural Products INSIDER | Women Googling Their Way Into Motherhood

IN THE NEWS — Natural Products INSIDER | Women Googling Their Way Into Motherhood

When a woman becomes pregnant, everyday items, from food to supplements, medicines and cosmetics, suddenly are subject to increased scrutiny. When preparing to enter this new life phase, women tend to go on a massive hunt-and-gather style quest for information. That search often manifests itself in Googling a wide variety of topics, including fertility, healthy pregnancy and lactation.

Read our CEO, Lisa Mabe’s, thoughts on how brands can reach women heading into motherhood.

Access Lisa's new thought leadership article by downloading Natural Products INSIDER’s special edition on Maternal Nutrition here. Look for her article, Women Googling Their Way Into Motherhood, on pages 33-35.

Source: Natural Products Insider

Photo Tour of MOM's Organic Market | Gaithersburg, Maryland

Photo Tour of MOM's Organic Market in Gaithersburg

MOM's Organic Market is an independent, family owned, natural foods retailer with currently 19 stores in the Washington, DC area, as well as Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The newly opened store I visited is located at 10 Upper Rock Cir, Rockville, Maryland 20850. The address is technically, Rockville, but it's right on the cusp of Gaithersburg.

If you've not been to a MOM's store before, you're in for a visual treat if you scroll through my photos below. I've shopped at other MOM's locations in DC for many years and love it. With an emphasis on organic products, along with their mission to protect and restore the environment, MOM's curates exceptional products and delights shoppers with unique offerings they might not find anywhere else. This is a store you can truly feel good about shopping with.

This new Gaithersburg store has lots of wide open spaces, given that it's in the suburbs. It's the nicest MOM's store I've seen yet! One thing I immediately noticed was the focus on bees throughout the store. I love all things honey, bees, bees wax, and of course saving the bees, plus I've been doing a lot of shopper research on the honey category recently. See for yourself in my photos here.

As I've been doing a lot of shopper research in the honey category lately, of course I checked out the honey aisle.

This store has a wide selection of honey.

Including 6 skus of Manuka honey from New Zealand

I'm noticing a theme throughout the store -- very bee-friendly. This plastic wrap alternative, Bee Wrap, made from bees wax, is nice.

More bee-friendly products

Portland Bee Balm

Burt's Bees (from my home state of North Carolina.)

Excited to see the Global Animal Partnership label here, on Bilinski's chicken sausage. That's the label I look for to buy higher welfare meats.

La Quercia also touting the GAP label.

An outstanding body care section! So many different brands and products from what I usually see in other retailers.

Tons of essential oils.

Spotted the Jack N' Jill brand from Australia; this is the kind my kids use.

I bought some of these sticks and the stick holder for my backyard. Seems to be working well!

Found some wool dryer balls, also from New Zealand. Love the branding; I bought these too - love to support the New Zealand companies.

I've not seen beekeeper supplies in a grocery store before; very cool.

A look inside my shopping basket.

I'm not kidding about the emphasis on bees. Super cute grocery bag!

Stayed tuned here on our blog, #GetInHerCart, for more grocery store visits from our travels around the world as we speak at various conferences and conduct shopper research in different markets. 

If you're keen to learn more about the grocery retail landscape in America, consider working with us on a workshop. Our workshop, Making it in America: How to Enter & Succeed in the Diverse Food Retail Marketplace, is one of the sessions we teach most and is very popular amongst companies from outside the USA. Contact me, Lisa Mabe, for more details about our workshops and other retail related services we offer. We teach workshops, conduct research and plan or execute public relations programs for companies all over the world. I look forward to hearing from you. Contact us here.  

- Lisa Mabe-Konstantopoulos, Founder, Green Purse PR

What Shoppers' Grocery Carts Can Tell Us About Them

Shop and Learn | You Don't Really Know a Shopper Until You've Shopped With Them

Next time you're in the grocery store, take a peak into your fellow shoppers' grocery carts. It's fun to see what ends up in shoppers' carts, especially if it is your brand, or in my case, a client's product. By the way, whenever I do spot a client's product in someone's shopping cart, I almost always strike up a quick conversation with them. I usually carry coupons from my clients and offer them a few as a way to thank them for their loyalty. It's a nice touch point that often goes a very long way.

My perspective is you don't really know a shopper until you've shopped with them. That’s one of the premises that makes Green Purse PR unique and why shopper research is fundamental to all the public relations and social communications work we do. Being successful in your consumer marketing starts with understanding the consumer – identifying how they learn about products, how your products are likely to fit into their lifestyle and how to better serve their needs in order to create and maintain a connection (or relationship, if you’re lucky) with those shoppers. 

“You don’t really know a shopper until you’ve shopped with them.”

— - Lisa Mabe, CEO, Green Purse PR

What can you tell about the shopper from this look inside her shopping cart?

Maybe she is gathering ingredients to make a special meal. Perhaps it's for a weekend celebration, a dinner party, or maybe it's a work-week meal for her family. Whatever the case, it looks like she has kids, or a lot of cats, because that's a lot of whole, organic milk in there. 

I frequently conduct shopper research, shop-alongs, with women all around the world. Each time I shop with someone, I take into consideration every single product that gets in her cart. Taking into account what products #GetInHerCart, is one of the ways our shop-along research helps us uncover insights that later help us intelligently build successful consumer PR programs.

Some of the insights we learn from shop-alongs include:

• What products catch her eyes, and what does not.
• What other products (besides yours) she is buying and how those may even be used together.
• Why she buys particular products over others.
• What third party certifications, verifications or ratings she may be looking for.
• How she connects, or does not connect, with brands and retailers.
• How your product fits into her lifestyle.
• How best to build and foster a relationship with consumers like her.

The list goes on and on.

Do you think it sounds smart to plan and implement a consumer marketing program or campaign without first bothering to do a little research on the very people who are hopefully going to buy your product?  No; that's not smart at all, but that's exactly what a lot of companies do.

Be the savvy company that DOES invest in understanding its target shoppers, and gets things right the first time. When you do, the insights you learn and connections you start, will deliver value both in the short and for a long time to come.

- Lisa Mabe-Konstantopoulos, Founder, Green Purse PR

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Want Green Purse PR to shop with your consumers and garner insights to help you better connect with health-conscious women?

Photo Tour | Woolworths in Crows Nest, Sydney

I recently returned from a business trip to Sydney, Australia, where I used to be based. I was in town to speak at the Naturally Good Expo and Naturally Good Business Summit. While there I had a look at some of Sydney's grocery retail scene, including some of the stores I used to shop at when I lived in Sydney.

One of the stores I visited was Woolworths in Crows Nest. This 'Woolies' store just reopened in April 2016 after two years of major renovation. I shopped at this Woolies during my time in Sydney; last time I was here it was still being demolished. Now, $52 million later in redevelopment, it's a completely different store. Previously it was a very tired, soulless, one-level store -- the kind that's so unpleasant, you can hardly wait to get out of it. Now it's shiny, new and includes multiple-levels. 

Below are some photos I took of Woolworths located at 10 Falcon St, Crows Nest NSW 2065, Australia.

Woolworths - Crows Nest, Sydney

Such a beautiful structure on the outside. Crows Nest is an adorable community, but it could use some updating. The new Woolworths helps modernise the community. 

Main level includes lots of grab & go options.

Spotted several products featuring the Australian Certified Organic bud, Australia's most recognised organic certification amongst Australian consumers.

This Thomas Dux corner on the first floor made me sad. I'm glad Woolworths still managed to let the brand live on in some form, but I'm disappointed that the stand alone stores no longer exist. Thomas Dux Grocer closed about two years ago. There used to be an outstanding Thomas Dux right around the corner from here; it's now a different store, called About Life. Read my blog post, photo tour of About Life here.

Stayed tuned here on our blog, #GetInHerCart, for more information on grocery retail and from our travels around the world as we speak at various conferences and conduct shopper research in different markets. 

Photo Tour | About Life in Crows Nest, Sydney

I recently returned from a few weeks working in Australia. During my time in Sydney (my old home) I visited several grocery retailers, including some of my old go-to spots from when I lived in Sydney. 

For me, I study (through shop-along research) how health-conscious consumers around the world grocery shop, so I'm always keen to have a look at the in-store environment, identify new products and try to understand what's resonating with shoppers. 

One of the stores I visited is About Life in Crows Nest, on Sydney's Lower North Shore. About Life is a natural supermarket and whole foods cafe with seven locations in Sydney and one in Melbourne (as of this writing.) This store was converted from a Thomas Dux Grocer store (sadly, no longer with us) to About Life about two years ago. About Life, Crows Nest is located at: 13 Willoughby Rd, Crows Nest NSW 2065, Australia. When I lived in Sydney, and this was still Thomas Dux Grocer, this store was where we bought most of our groceries. 

The layout of the store is mostly the same as it was under Thomas Dux.  It now features a cafe section and has been re-skinned for the About Life brand. This is a great store to discover unique and healthy products, from fresh food and packaged snacks to natural nappies and body care.

Below are photos I took while visiting About Life located at 13 Willoughby Rd, Crows Nest NSW 2065, Australia.

Stayed tuned here on our blog, #GetInHerCart, for more information on grocery retail and from our travels around the world as we speak at various conferences and conduct shopper research in different markets. 

Green Purse PR's Lisa Mabe to Keynote Naturally Good Business Summit in Sydney

Green Purse PR's Lisa Mabe to Keynote Naturally Good Business Summit in Sydney

We are excited to announce that Green Purse PR Founder & CEO, Lisa Mabe, will present the keynote address at the Naturally Good Business Summit in Sydney, Australia 2 June, 2017 at 9:00 AM.

The Naturally Good Business Summit is a growth strategy event that aims to push businesses to the next level. The one-day forum will fuel strategic thinking, business development and industry connections.

Lisa's keynote, Get in her trolley: Global insights for connecting with women shoppers, will cover:

• Looking into the shopping trolleys of women
• The importance of understanding how women shop
• How retailers and brands can engage women in stores and online

Women are the fastest-growing economy in the world, influencing 90 per cent of purchasing decisions and driving the global cultural shift towards cleaner, greener, healthier products for themselves and their families. If companies with healthy products want to succeed in this evolving marketplace, they must win with women.

But how do you influence purchasing decisions and what makes women choose one product over another? Who are the key segments you should be connecting with to sell healthy products? Attend Lisa's keynote presentation to find out.

For more details on the Business Summit, click here.

Plan to join us if you can. Otherwise, follow the dialogue online by using the hashtag, #NaturallyGoodExpo. Follow Lisa on Twitter @LisaMabe as she will be live tweeting from the event.

In addition to the Business Summit, Lisa is also speaking a few days later at the Naturally Good Expo. There, Lisa will discuss marketing to health-conscious Millennial shoppers. More on that here.

Lisa is CEO of Green Purse PR, a boutique research and public relations consultancy based Washington, DC. Lisa is an award-winning public relations expert with recognized expertise in social communications and marketing to women. Lisa has over 12 years experience working with leading companies around the world, including Australian companies like OBE Organic and Changing Habits. Lisa was previously based in Sydney, and is often in the region servicing clients throughout Australia and New Zealand.

Want to connect with Lisa ahead of the Summit? Contact her via this form.