Connecting with Consumers During Summer at Home

CONNECTING WITH CONSUMERS WHILE THEY ‘SUMMER’ AT HOME DURING COVID-19 LOCKDOWN

American consumers won't be spending on vacations this Summer. They'll be spending on things to keep themselves entertained at home.

Many of your consumers will likely be “Summering” at home this year, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. This cultural change will definitely alter how they shop and what they buy. Summer usually means kids have Summer break from school (and are therefore home a lot more,) Summer grilling season (of special important to meat brands,) and Summer travel season (which will certainly cease to exist this year.) Our new stay at home culture will cause purchase behaviors to be very different. It will also change the way brands talk to consumers about their products.

As we’re always looking a few months ahead for our public relations clients, we recently asked our panel of Millennial moms what they anticipate needing to buy or stock up on in order to keep their families happy, healthy and properly entertained during their continued time at home over Summer. Listed below are some of what they shared with us.

How American Millennial Moms plan to ‘summer’ at home during coronavirus

• “Lots of alcohol! I’ll be making lots of cold, hard drinks while I work from home (on the patio in my bikini) and summer school and make sure the kids are outside not messing up my house constantly.”

• “I’m already thinking about backyard entertainment to keep the kids busy while I work. I’ve been on Pinterest researching and screenshotting outdoor activities. We’ve got baby pools; we’ll order some more water toys, art supplies and lots of good healthy snacks to have on hand.“

• “As long as I can crack open a LaCroix a few times a day, I’ll be ok. I’ve got an arsenal of LaCroix containers - all flavors at the ready.”

• “I’m bored already just thinking about staying home all Summer and not going anywhere on vacation! I’m planning to start some new hobbies - I want to take some virtual cooking classes (maybe Italian cooking until I can ever get over to Italy.) We’ve got a huge inflatable water pool & slide for our kids and we’ll stock up on lots of good food to make the most of our time at home.”

• “Sounds like we had better hunker down and get comfortable being at home just about all the time. I’m making my bedroom an oasis; I’ve bought a new mattress, added some house plants and some really good lighting (including fairy lights) to make it as cozy and as inviting as possible.”

• “Ice cream, kids fruit drinks, and if we can’t get them at the store, we’ll learn to make them ourselves.”

• “I bought a bunch of mini piñatas and a bunch of candy to have every once in a while for the kids. I’m getting myself a nice Nepresso machine so I can have specialty iced lattes all summer.”

• “I want to do certain food activities on certain days. We’re doing Friday afternoon ice cream parties in the backyard, Saturday morning brunch with a fancier than usual breakfast (like a avocado & egg on toast + smoothies,) and Sunday lunch time BBQs with steaks, burgers or hotdogs.”

• “Definitely a tree house or play house for the backyard. We’ve also just started a garden so maybe that will give us something to do sometimes.”

• “We have lots of space, thankfully, so we’ll be at our swimming pool a lot, reading in the hammock or having BBQs in the back yard. I’m sure we’ll need to stock up on lots of meats for grilling, drinks for hot days and some more water toys to keep cool.”

• “Drinks (beer & cocktails for me and the hubby;) ice-pops and fruit drinks for the kids. Lots of fruit, like watermelon and pineapple.”

• “Since homeschooling, I’ve already stocked up on a bunch of school and crafty types of supplies (glue sticks, crayons & markets, pom poms, waterbeads, construction paper, and so on,) but we’ll likely invest in just about every type of backyard toy we can find on Amazon or Target.”

• “I love trying new things — I’m making art, cooking new types of food, I’ve already bought a bunch of expensive kitchen equipment (espresso machine) and a new grill (Big Green Egg.) I’m also trying to expand my palette for different alcoholic drinks. I’d like to come up with my own Quarantini. Once I have a winner, I’ll probably make and deliver several cute packages of it to my friends and neighbors close by.”

• “We’re getting my husband a nice new grill since we’ll likely want to BBQ often. We’ve already stocked up on lots of meat, just in case it’s harder to find as this pandemic plays out.”

• “I’m going to try to make things as special as I can. I want to get a bunch of yard games and decorations for our garden area. I’m thinking corn hole, ring toss, water guns, water slides & sprinklers. I’ll also want to make food extra special; we might have some themed play, like a pretty tea party outside for my daughter.”

• “As a little hobby, my girlfriends and I are using some of this down time to expand our tastebuds together, virtually. We’re trying new drinks and food. I’ve gotten a bunch of specialty beers in pretty cans, mixers to make all sorts of concoctions. The idea is to experiment, have fun and determine some new go-to drinks for all this time at home.”

• “My Target cart online currently has a bunch of outdoor things waiting to be bought. I’m thinking about a hammock, zip line, play house and games. We’re stocked up on food, but I bet we’ll need lot and lots of alcoholic drinks and fruit to make fruit drinks for the children.”

Photo source: chatterblock.com

How is your brand or retailer planning to talk with consumers during the home-bound Summer days?

As we continue to navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic here in the USA, Green Purse PR is committed to helping our research clients stay informed by serving up the most valuable and current consumer insights.

We've got a constant pulse on the changing behaviors of American consumers. We are currently conducting virtual shopper research to better understand how consumers are shopping in categories like: food & beverage, household goods (like cleaning products & personal care,) outdoor entertainment and toys.

Search the link below or submit an information request for answers to your specific questions about your consumers. Learn more and contact us here →→→ www.greenpursepr.com/virtual-shopper-research. 

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

Meat Marketing + Holidays

Meat Marketing + Holidays

Smart marketing programs around key selling seasons to make your meat brand irreplaceable at retail

Atkins Ranch grass fed lamb, one of the brands we conduct public relations for, and one good at leveraging its’ key holidays and seasons. This is from a past Easter promotion at Whole Foods Market.

Major holidays and seasons represent big opportunities for brands and retailers and there are a few in particular that are most relevant to the meat category. Take the most recent example, Easter. Easter is a BIG selling season for ham and lamb brands, yet every year I’m shocked at the lack of consumer marketing from many of them, big and small. Some brands are completely silent on their digital and social communications, leading up to Easter, now and in years past.

If you walk into a grocery store around Easter, or now during Pandemic times, shop for meat online, you’ll no doubt see promotions and discounts on products like spiral hams or legs of lamb, but it looks as though most brands simply leave it up to the grocery retailer to promote these to consumers. The truth is, while meat companies may be good at producing and selling meat, they are usually not good marketers. With only a few exceptions (have at look at this high end Australian butchery for inspiration,) the meat industry as a whole has a lot of room for improvement when it comes to consumer marketing. As someone who is passionate about the meat industry (only those who are doing it right — companies that raise livestock in the most natural way possible, treating animals, the land and farmers with respect, as well as being transparent with consumers,) and someone who has been working with leading meat brands around the world for several years now, I’m keen to see them all be better.

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Here’s a test you can easily do in your search engine.

Right now go to your web browser, like Google, and type in your protein cut, or holiday or season, or cooking method, + the name of your retail partners and see what search results come up. For example, type:

• “Spiral ham + Whole Foods Market,”

• “Easter lamb + Costco,”

• “Summer BBQ + Publix,”

and see what comes up in the results. If your brand is not a part of the results, mark that down as a conversation you need to work to be a part of, and possibly even lead.

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Whether it’s during a key selling season, major holiday, or just anytime throughout the year, meat brands tend to assume their retail partners will magically do the marketing work for them. The reality is however that retailers are not going to conduct marketing programs to support your brand (unless you pay them for it,) and most grocery retailers in the USA are naturally more keen to promote on their private label brands over yours.

If you are happy to play in the commodity space (and therefore be very easy to replace at any time,) maybe you don’t need to invest in marketing, but if you want to build a brand, command a premium for all the unique attributes, provenance, and certifications your product represents and stay long-term with the retail customers you already have, you must invest in consumer marketing.

If your meat brand conducts smart consumer marketing programs, like public relations or social media marketing, around key holidays (or even better, year-round,) you can provide even more value to the meat buyers at your retail customers. By being a good marketing partner to your customers, you can help ensure the longevity of your relationship. You can also help ensure that shoppers are not just buying that ham or lamb once a year at Easter, but will consider buying your meat products for other special events or perhaps on a weekly basis too. At the very least, brands should have public relations campaigns around their biggest selling seasons and holidays.

According to our shopper research, we know there are some consumers very passionate about meat, but it tends to be a pretty low-interest category for the majority of shoppers. For that reason, we need marketing programs to keep meat brands and their products top of mind. Sure, meat-eating consumers may buy meat often enough, but it’s usually not something they want to spend much time thinking about. A good meat marketing program aims to leverage all those unique attributes farmers and ranchers work so hard to create (like farm animal welfare, non-GMO, organic, pasture raised, etc) and leave consumers feeling good about their meat purchase. We know consumers that feel good about what they buy are more likely to tell others, who will also buy your products.

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What Green Purse PR’s Meat Marketing Programs Look Like

When it comes to meat marketing programs, here are just some of the tactics Green Purse PR plans and implements for our clients.

• Shopper Research

• Social Media Marketing + Advertising

• Digital Marketing

• Retailer Shopper Marketing

• Earned Media Exposure

• Paid Media Exposure

• Partner Marketing

• Influencer Marketing

• Thought Leadership Program

Each marketing program we develop is unique, depending upon a company’s budget, who their retail customers are, geographic footprint, and what what they need to accomplish. We tend to do our very best work when our clients are able to have us collaborate closely with their retail customers so we can build and implement programs that not only promote our clients brands, but also compliment the efforts of the retailers.

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Are you ready to make your meat brand irreplaceable to your retail customers?

Contact us to chat about your current programs + customers, plus how our meat marketing programs could make your brand even more successful. If you’re not yet familiar with Green Purse PR, we are a highly-specialized shopper research and public relations consultancy in Washington, DC led by Lisa Mabe-Konstantopoulos. Some of our clients have included: KeHE Distributors, Saffron Road, Meat & Livestock Australia, OBE Organic Beef, Atkins Ranch Lamb, TK Natural Lamb, Global Animal Partnership, JicaChips, Artisanal Premium Cheese, Truly Indian and Edible Arrangements International, among many others. On our call, we’ll be happy to discuss more about our meat marketing expertise and cases of success. We look forward to ‘meating’ you via phone or video conference soon. Get in touch here: www.greenpursepr.com/contact.

Shopper Marketing Opportunities for Spring & Easter

MULTIPLE PURCHASE OPPORTUNITIES LEADING UP TO EASTER

One of my favorite seasons is Spring and holidays is Easter, and lucky for me, I usually get to celebrate Easter twice! Although it varies each year, Orthodox Easter, or “Greek Easter” as we call it, is sometimes a week or so off from regular Easter. My husband, Yianni, is Greek and Easter is a HUGE holiday in his culture, so we always celebrate both regular and Orthodox Easter.

Whether it’s social media marketing or traditional public relations, building messaging and content around holidays (major holidays, like Easter, and also the plethora of ‘marketing holidays,’ like National Picnic Day - April 23, 2020) and seasons serves as a foundation for guiding the marketing communications programs that Green Purse PR plans and creates for its clients.

Spring of course lasts for a while; it technically begins March 19, although it likely won’t feel like it until closer to Easter. Easter is more than just a one-time event on April 12 (and April 19 for Orthodox Easter.) Both Spring and Easter can include what we like to call “mini events,” which can stretch out the season and create even more purchase opportunities.

How many ‘mini events’ (or buying opportunities) are there for Spring & Easter?

Turns out, there are several, depending on your product category and who you’re targeting. Here are a few that we try to leverage for some of our clients that focus on the Easter holiday.

• Spruce up for Spring - Many Americans like to welcome Spring (whenever it begins to feel like Spring) by sprucing up their homes with seasonal flowers, often outside their front door or inside their homes. Grocery stores and garden centers are keen to promote and sell flowers, like tulips and peonies. In addition to pretty, Spring flowers, many Americans like to dress up their home entrance with season-appropriate welcome mats and garden decor.

Spring tulips at Whole Foods Market

Photo source: potterybarn.com

• Easter Dress - For households with children, buying an Easter outfit is on the agenda for some Americans, especially those planning to dress up for parties or church activities. For little ladies and big ones too, this can especially be a big deal. Parents often use this time as a good excuse to get professional photos made of the kids or the entire family. I personally like to have matching dresses for my daughter and I, and I’ve already got my photographer lined up for Spring family photos.

• Dying Easter Eggs - To decorate for Easter and Spring, a lot of households will hard boil eggs and dye them different Spring colors. There are egg-dying kits to buy, or some people may opt for natural, plant-based dyes. After the eggs are properly colored and dried, they make pretty decor items for the household.

• Easter Baskets - Easter baskets filled with treats are a traditional Easter gift, especially for children. While the focus tends to be on confectionary products, like Peeps (sugar covered marshmallows in the shape of baby chickens,) Easter eggs with prizes inside, chocolate Easter bunnies, and Easter-themed candy, a lot of gifts will extend to toys, clothes, games, etc. Adults can certainly be given Easter baskets too.

• Neighborhood Events - Some American neighborhoods (especially suburban areas) are likely to have a big Easter egg hunt and party. Some even have an Easter bunny for kids to meet and greet.

• Go see the Easter Bunny - This is a very American thing (actually, all of this is,) but if the neighborhood or church community did not offer an Easter bunny opportunity, many families will go see the Easter Bunny at a local shopping mall. A bit similar to going to see Santa Claus before Christmas, visiting with the Easter Bunny is mostly just to get a fun, festive photo. Parents tend to have children dressed up in their Sunday best for this visit and buy professional photos of the encounter.

• The Big Grocery Shop - For those planning to entertain family and friends at home, they’ll be heading to their grocery store to do a big Easter shop. This is when they’ll pick up their Easter ham or lamb, ingredients for any baking, drinks and probably some flowers too.

• Easter Day - Americans’ celebrations for Easter day can vary. Church-going folks may rise extra early for a sunrise church service. Typically most Easter meals tend to focus around lunch or dinner — some at home, and others going out to restaurants. Some mainstays for the day include specific food traditions and for children, an Easter egg hunt. Traditional food on Easter can include: ham, leg of lamb, deviled eggs, baked goods, etc.

• Hostess Gift - For those heading to someone else’s home to celebrate, they will bring a hostess gift, which could include some of the following: flowers, wine, dessert, or maybe a side dish if guests have been asked to contribute to the meal. If the hostess has children, some guests will likely bring a small treat for the children as well.

• Orthodox Easter - For Orthodox Christians, they’ll celebrate Orthodox Easter, which this year, is one week later. Orthodox Easter can look like a repeat of the regular Easter, but with a few notable differences — mainly, serving a whole lamb. For example, my husband’s Greek family has a tradition of slaughtering a lamb at a local farm and roasting the whole lamb on our spit grill in the back yard in time for our big, Greek Easter party.

Easter egg hunt

Easter bunny cake

Koulourakia, traditional Easter cookies from Greek culture

Holiday Planning Help

Is Easter or Spring a major selling season for your brand? How is your company planning to connect with consumers during the spring & Easter season?

Contact me to discuss how your brand or retailer can leverage the next big holiday in your consumer marketing. We offer 1-hour consulting call, or we can explore having Green Purse PR plan or implement a holiday marketing campaign for you.

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

Connecting with Consumers on Social Media Leading up to Valentine's Day

CONNECTING WITH CONSUMERS ON SOCIAL MEDIA LEADING UP TO VALENTINE’S DAY

Marketers LOVE Valentine’s Day. Sales for candy, flowers (especially roses,) cards and food & drinks for fancy dinners (dining out at a restaurant, or at home) go through the roof!

I want marketers to get the most out of this holiday by leveraging the many opportunities that the ‘season of love’ can offer. Building social media messaging and content around holidays (both major holidays, like Valentine’s Day, and also the plethora of ‘marketing holidays,’ like National Strawberry Day - Feb 27, 2020) and seasons serves as a foundation for guiding the social media programs Green Purse PR creates for its clients in the natural products industry. Valentine’s Day is more than just a one-time event on February 14th. Each major holiday can include what we like to call “mini events,” which can stretch out the season and create even more purchase opportunities.

How many ‘mini events’ (or buying opportunities) can you think of for the Valentine’s season?

Turns out, there are several, depending on your product category and who you’re targeting.

• Home decorating - Many Americans decorate for Valentine’s Day a couple weeks before the holiday. Those decorations might include a front door wreath, a front door welcome mat, and kitchen decor (like a heart-shaped candy dish, towels, etc.)

Photo source: paintedpinkpeonyco via Instagram

• Kids play room decorations - For households with children, they are likely to put more effort and money into decorating for this holiday. Children are likely to make cards for family and school friends, make holiday art & craft projects, etc.

• Gift shopping - As soon as the New Year’s holiday is over, retailers go straight into Valentine’s Day merchandising. Grocery retailers and others like Target and HomeGoods are a go-to source for Valentine’s decorations, candy, food snacks, flowers and toys.

• School parties - For families with children in school, they are likely to have a Valentine’s Day school party. This may require buying small gifts for the entire class, or bringing a food item for a party. Many parents will also buy a teacher’s gift to show their love and appreciation.

• Neighborhood events - Some American neighborhoods may have holiday events, like a crafting workshop for kids where they can enjoy food & drink treats + making Valentine’s Day cards.

• Valentine’s Day - the main days for giving gifts for Valentine’s Day, which are often for significant others (wives, husbands, partners, girlfriends, boyfriends, etc.) Don’t forget, gifting also extends beyond the significant other sometimes, to include children, friends and coworkers. Traditional gifts on this day include: flowers (a dozen red roses,) jewelry, chocolates (and other candy,) and cards. While some people shop for their Valentine’s Day gifts well ahead of time, there are plenty who also wait until the last minute to buy gifts.

Valentine’s merchandising at Whole Foods Market, 2020

How is your brand or retailer connecting with consumers on social media during the many mini-events throughout the Valentine’s season?

Let me know by commenting below.

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

Webinar May 15th with the Specialty Food Association | Register for 'Understanding Millennial and Gen Z Shoppers'

Webinar May 15th with the Specialty Food Association | Register for 'Understanding Millennial and Gen Z Shoppers'

We’re excited to partner with the Specialty Food Association to bring the specialty food industry fresh insight into younger generations of shoppers.

Join Green Purse PR’s CEO, Lisa Mabe-Konstantopoulos, for an in-depth look at how Millennials and Gen Z shoppers are learning about, shopping for, using and sharing specialty food products.

Lisa will share some valuable insights from the qualitative research (shop-alongs) she’s recently conducted with Millennial and Gen Z shoppers, as well as examples of other makers who are successfully connecting with young shoppers. Come away with practical insights makers can use in their own specialty food businesses to better understand your shoppers and how best to communicate with them.

The webinar will address these questions and more:

• How well do you know your younger consumers?

• How can I find who my “tribe” or most passionate consumers are/will be?

• How are other makers effectively reaching younger consumers?

• What should I be doing now to better understand my company’s young shoppers?

Date: Wednesday, May 15, 2019

Time: 2:00pm EST (USA time)

Register on the Specialty Food Association’s website here → → → https://bit.ly/2J3GMIb.

Travel Notes from Japan | Market Observations from Grocery Retail

Travel Notes from Japan | Market Observations from Grocery Retail

I was just in Japan for two weeks. I went to conduct some shopper research for a client and while there, had a vacation with my husband and our friends as well. I traveled all over Tokyo, took a bullet train over to Kyoto, drove a car to Mount Fuji and then back to Tokyo. I loved getting to know Japan (and will definitely be back,) had some amazing foodie experiences and learned a lot about Japan’s grocery retail landscape and Japanese shoppers.

Have a look at my photos below to see some of the many observations I made while working and traveling around in Japan.

Firstly, Japan makes a wide variety of specialty foods, some of which looks like good candidates to make it in America. More on that in this separate blog post.

Much like the American market, you’ll find a wide variety of retail outlets ranging from convenience stores (Lawson’s or Family Mart are everywhere,) conventional supermarket chains, independent specialty shops, specialty food chains, and high end food halls and shops inside luxury department stores.

This was definitely my favorite specialty food store, Akomeya Tokyo TOKYO公式オンラインショップのページです。akomeya.jp.

Gorgeous specialty food section inside the high end department store, Kyoto BAL, www.bal-bldg.com/kyoto.

In the cities people are making multiple trips per week to the grocery store. Most pop in by foot or on bicycle. Riding bicycles is huge here. You’ll see moms on their bikes carrying around two children – one in the front and one in the back, leaving very little space to tote around a lot of groceries.

Coffee culture is alive and well here. So glad about that as I’m no fun to be around unless I’m properly caffeinated in the morning.

Found the cutest Aussie cafe, Bondi Cafe, across from Yoyogi Park in Tokyo. Check them out on your next visit to Tokyo: bondicafe.net/bondi-cafe-yoyogi-beach-park.

Specialty bread is also a big deal here. Definitely ate the most expensive bread I’ve ever had and yes it was worth it! Seriously though, how pretty is this bread store? It looks like a jewelry shop. Not limited to just the specialty, expensive types of bread, regular bread is popular too. On several occasions I saw people wrapped around a city block in line for fresh bread at a bakery. With a specialty product like the one you see below, this is more for a gifting occasion instead of a regular purchase, so I’m told by shoppers.

Apparently everyone leaves here very happy as evidenced by these folks.

Japanese love their beef. Everyone’s heard of Japan’s famous Wagyu and Kobe beef, both of which are delicious. I did some research on the meat category while there; look for another upcoming blog post soon just about the meat category in Japan.

Japanese shoppers enjoy a wide variety of meat cuts. Go to a butchery or open up a restaurant menu and you’ll see some cuts you may not be familiar with -- like beef tongue. Nice to see people willing to accept those “minority cuts of meat” so the entire carcass is used and nothing goes to waste.

Beef tongue — looks nice, right?

Presentation is taken very seriously here. In the higher end specialty shops you’ll see beautiful merchandising. Staff inside grocery stores seem to take great pride in their work (that’s a nice change!) and obsess over the details ensuring products look perfect on the shelves. While checking in on some of my clients products there, I was very happy to find them in perfect order.

And if you’re like me, and are attracted to pretty, minimal packaging, you’ll find a lot of products that catch your eye.

I took a close look at honey on supermarket shelves around Japan. I’ll have more on that for you in an upcoming blog post, so stay tuned here.

I observed some organic products, but not a lot. Most of the shoppers I conducted shop-alongs with were not having organic or chemical-free top of mind. That said, what was top of mind is food cleanliness, safety and country of origin.

The USA, France and Australia have done a good job of promoting products from their countries here as the Japanese have an affinity for products coming from these countries.

I see Outback Steakhouse has also made it to Japan. Japanese enjoy a taste of the Outback as well.

I observed some unique flavors as ingredients in products like soft drinks, chocolates — basically anything had a version that was matcha green tea, wasabi, peach or cherry blossom/sakura flavor.

I know it’s not organic, but I do enjoy a Coca-Cola every once in a while. Tried one of these and it was super sweet, but delicious. I could not finish it all, but definitely worth trying.

On the go eating is not common here as it’s considered impolite to eat while walking around or otherwise on the go. If you buy some takeaway food, it’s meant to be eaten near the vendor before going about your business. Despite that, supermarket shelves have a wide variety of interesting snack food.

Spotted some familiar products from back in the USA on supermarket shelves in Japan.

Does your brand want to launch into the Japanese market?

While in Japan, we took a deep dive into the grocery retail landscape and shopped-along with Japanese consumers, delivering valuable insights, feedback and recommendations for our client who we conducted research for.

Green Purse PR conducts shopper research all over the world and looks forward to doing more shopper research in Japan. Contact us if you’re interested in learning more about the Japanese market and consumers.

Or, are you from a Japanese company that wants to launch into the USA?

Good news — we’ll be back in Tokyo later this year and we’ll be bringing fresh insights from the American consumer market with us. I’m currently planning one of Green Purse PR’s Go To Market USA Workshops. These workshops are for exporters and focus on understanding the American consumer market to ensure export success. Each program is customized, but typically includes a half day or full day workshop covering topics such as: the American retail landscape, shopper insights, best practices in consumer marketing, competitive intelligence, resources and a brainstorming and Q&A session. Click here for more details on the Go To Market USA Workshops and contact us for details on the upcoming program happening later in 2019 in Tokyo.

- Lisa Mabe-Konstantopoulos, Founder, Green Purse PR

#GetInHerCart’s Expert Q&A Series | Insight from Maria Reyes of Leading US Distributor, KeHE

#GetInHerCart’s Expert Q&A Series | Insight from Maria Reyes of Leading US Distributor, KeHE

We are launching a new blog series called #GetInHerCart Expert Q&A. This series of blog posts will connect us with some of our favorite industry experts who share our curiosity for how consumers around the world shop for natural products and what makes brands succeed in reaching them.

This first in the series features a Q&A with Maria Reyes, Director of Category Management at leading national distributor, KeHE, with the corporate office based in the Chicago area. If you sell olive oil in the USA, you’ve likely heard of, or know Maria Reyes. She’s someone I’ve known for several years and is an expert whose opinion I value. She also works for an outstanding company, KeHE, one I’ve been privileged to work with and a distribution partner to so many of the brands Green Purse PR represents.

Focused on premium, not processed extra virgin olive oil, Maria has helped bring to market and build brands like, Lucini, Colavita and Gaea back when these brands were first launched and are now rock stars of the specialty food industry and olive oil category. Most recently, Maria is focused on launching new and artisanal brands from Sicily, as well as Spain, the largest producer of olive oil in the world.

Continue reading below for our recent Q&A interview with Maria, and thanks for reading our blog, #GetInHerCart.

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

Maria Reyes, Director Category Management at KeHE Distributors

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Specialty food products that #GetInHerCart. Some of the products Maria purchases for her own home

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Maria’s tips for getting (and staying) on shelves:

• Know your market

• Know your shopper

• Determine your strategy & budget

• Offer up your expertise to retail customers and when possible, consumers

• Hire the right team & work with the right partners to help grow your brand and execute your strategic growth plan

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Q. Before launching into a new grocery retailer, brands should be doing this__________before they launch.

A. “You’ve got to study and understand the market – the retail landscape and determine where your product fits in.”

Maria suggests:

• Obtaining data on your product category, as well as your target shopper (category snapshot reports and shopper research, like interviews and shop-alongs.)

• Developing a strategic plan (to include competitive shelf price, consumer advertising, social media, etc.)

• Realistic budget for marketing and promotional activities.

• Determining where you’re best suited for your launch (i.e. West Coast or East Coast, specialty grocery vs. natural channel, etc.)

• Narrowing down your target retail accounts & ensuring you have the proper funding to support each of them via discounts, demos & consumer education.

Q. When we use the phrase ‘understand the shopper,’ what does that really mean? What specifically should brands be studying to understand their retail customers’ shoppers?

A. “Who are the feet walking in the store, what are they looking for, and ultimately walking out with?”

Maria suggests:

• Identifying the types of shoppers already primed to find your key claims of value.

• Understand where shoppers learn about products in your category.

• Identify what drives shoppers to purchase (price, format, quality, etc.) in the category you play in. This is called a “consumer decision tree.”

• Learn how those products are used at home.

Q. Specialty food categories like olive oil (also wine, honey, cheese, etc.) can be overwhelming and confusing for consumers, unless they are experts. Do you have any examples of brands and/or retailers doing a good job of educating shoppers in stores or online?

A. Maria says that Cobram Estate (California & Australian olive oils) Gaea from Greece and BONO from Sicily, Italy, are excellent examples of marketing partners in that they work to educate consumers online and in stores.

Maria added that she had recently attended an education event at Cobram Estate’s office in Woodland, California for their retail partners and noted that programs to up level olive oil knowledge of retail partners is equally important to consumers as well.

Maria says there are some excellent olive oil experts around the world, like: Leandro Ravietti Techincal Director at Boundary Bend Australia, Dean Wilkinson, Head Panel Taster at the California Olive Oil Council, Dr. Mary Flynn from Brown University, Alexanda Diverini, Founder of The Extra Virgin Alliance and David Neuman, founder of the EVOO Guy. These are all professionals in the industry and great at helping educate key decision makers, consumers, and have also helped Maria over the past few years gain her olive oil knowledge.

One challenge Maria noted as it pertains to olive oil education is that “some retailers lack the infrastructure and time to properly educate themselves in order to help educate consumers in their stores,” and noted that categories like extra virgin olive oil and Manuka honey, are examples that should have more in-store education so shoppers can understand these products are unique and generally cost more.

Opportunity for brands to more closely collaborate with retailers to educate shoppers on premium categories, like olive oil, honey and wine.

“Consumers are more educated than they have been in the past, but there’s still a lot of room for improvement by both brands and retailers to educate consumers in premium categories."

— Maria Reyes of KeHE

Example of educating shoppers about Manuka honey inside Rockridge Market Hall in Oakland, California

Q. Just because a producer thinks they have an outstanding product, does not necessarily mean it’s going to do well at market. In addition to having a great-tasting, good quality product, what else is required to be successful in a crowded category, like olive oil?

A. “Money, time, patience, hard work and grit.”

Maria adds exposure such as, top tier media placements like, O the Oprah Magazine and Bon Appetit as well as awards, like, The Specialty Food Association’ Sofi Awards and the New York International Olive Oil Competition, can carry a lot of weight when building brand recognition and gaining exposure with retailers and often the consumers as well.

Source: Lucini.com | Example Maria shared of Lucini getting into O the Oprah Magazine

Q. When launching a new product (and new brand) at grocery retail, what are some of the must-haves?

A. “They need to have proper labeling, a national sales manager or regional sales team. If they don’t have someone here to help guide them step by step and develop a certain level of consistency, they’re going to potentially fail and often spend substantial capital. Another must have is having product inventory in the USA, that shows your commitment to the market.” Maria says that one way for brands from outside the USA can demonstrate that commitment is either working with an importer (who distributors like KeHE would be buying from,) or in some cases even opening up their own US corporation with their own warehouse (acting as the importer themselves) to service their American customers.

Maria has worked with several brands coming from outside the USA who produce the number one selling product in their country and they expect that they’ll also be the number one here in America. These types of high expectations come with the assumption that they’ll automatically have volume, expecting to sell by full imported container load, which is not always possible in the beginning and often takes several years to grow into.

Q. Are there any specific niches within olive oil where there is still some room to shine?  

A. “Yes. Demand for quality olive oil is increasing and supply is declining, except in Spain.” Currently Maria is focused on bringing olive oil from quality Spanish producers on board and taking full advantage of the current trend toward healthy fats, citing olive oil as “the healthiest fat of all, period.”  Maria recommends high quality extra virgin olive oil brands leverage the healthy fat positioning currently trending with consumers.

Another opportunity to shine is in product size. Maria says she is looking to market olive oil products in 250 ml (8.5 oz) format instead of just the typical 500 ml (16.9 oz) sizes. “Smaller bottles means less oil, which makes them less expensive and gives a lower retail price. That translates into more retail sales and allows consumers to be more adventurous with new products.”

Maria visiting olive oil producers in Spain

Spanish olive oil products on retail shelves in Spain

Q. Are there any brands, countries or country promotion boards that do an outstanding job of telling their provenance story here in the USA?

A. “The Made in Italy brand protected by the Italian government through the Italian Trade Commission.” Maria also added that ancient cultures like Spain, Italy and Greece have a big advantage in telling a provenance story with the Italians being the best and most experienced at it.

Maria exploring Tuscan region with Bellucci

Q. If a specialty food brand suddenly had an extra $10k, $20k, $50k or even $100k USD to spend on consumer marketing, where would you likely recommend they invest it?

A. “Getting the right story/messaging and certifications on their product packaging and tying that story/message back to current trends taking place here in America. Getting the right message and telling their story within their labels is a must.”

Maria ads that “social media exposure is a given, but don’t forget that there is a substantial value of both paid and earned media exposure.”

Source: www.instagram.com/gaeaoliveoil | Example Maria shared of GAEA from Greece’s on a billboard in Times Square, New York City during the Fancy Food Show.

What Maria reads to keep up with food trends:

Consumer media: Clean Eating, Bon Appetite, Food & Wine & Saveur.

Trade media: Supermarket News, Olive Oil Times, Olive Wellness Institute, Specialty Food News, Nosh Newsletter, New Hope Network, Gourmet Retailer, Food Navigator & GMA Smart Brief.

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Maria has a wealth of insight into the specialty food and olive oil categories, and she loves sharing it, which is why she is one of our favorite experts. Follow Maria on LinkedIn here, where she frequently publishes news, insight and commentary on the olive oil category and specialty food trends.

Brands whose strategy match a national distribution model and are interested in partnering with KeHE should inquire online here, www.kehe.com/distribution.

You can also connect with KeHE on social media: Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram & Facebook.

View more of Maria’s travels from around the world speaking at olive oil industry events and visiting with olive oil producers from countries like, Australia, Spain, Greece and Italy.

Download our 2019 list of holidays for food marketing

Download our New List of Holidays for Food Marketing + Get Access to Our Upcoming Webinar on How to Leverage Food Holidays to Drive Awareness & Sales

Ever heard of National Cheese Lover's Day, Coffee Day or Beef Tallow Day? What about Weed Day or Farmer's Day? There are a lot of these so called food holidays or marketing holidays - some are silly, but some are serious. Serious in that some of them can help drive real awareness and sales.

We see retailers, media and consumer-influencers, like food bloggers, leveraging these holidays on social media, such as Instagram, and retailers using them for in-store promotions. Some holidays, like National Cookie Day (December 4) are made into big promotions at grocery retailers like Whole Foods Market. (See an earlier post we wrote on retailers taking a bite out of Cookie Day here.) 

If you're keen to see how you can leverage food related holidays to market your specialty or natural food product, download the list here. We’ll be hosting a one-time bonus webinar session exclusively for those who download our list. The webinar will highlight some of our favorite examples from companies creating content around holidays, like Halloween, Ramadan, National Coffee Day and National Picnic Day.

Photo Tour of Thanopoulos (Θανόπουλος) - Athens, Greece

Supermarket Tour | Thanopoulos (Θανόπουλος in Greek) in Athens, Greece

While in Greece recently on holidays, I took some time to squeeze in a bit of work. I've been to Greece several times before, (my husband is from Greece) but this was my first time doing a proper supermarket tour of Athens and conducting shopper research there. 

Athens has some lovely supermarkets and one of my favorites is Thanopoulos, known for stocking a wide variety of products from all over the world and the place to 'see and be seen' apparently. For those not already familiar with Thanopoulos, it is a privately-held family business that has been around since 1877.  Thanopoulos currently has three locations in Athens. I visited the Thanopoulos supermarket in the neighborhood of Kifissia (Κηφισιά,) an upscale residential and shopping district, and quite possibly my favorite place in Athens, other than the coast (Vouliagmeni is still my most favorite spot.) Have a look inside one of Athen's best supermarkets, Thanaopoulos, located at: N. Kifissia Ελαιών 38 14564 Athens, GR-A1.

Entrance to Thanopoulos N. Kifissia store

View from the large, roof top patio offering views of nearby mountains.

From the roof top patio. There is a cafe just inside.

View from the second level, looking down on the cash registers.

Organic fruit & vegetables

Fancy Greek olive oils, something Greece is certainly very well known for in the USA.

Minced/ground beef. Lamb and pork, however, seem to be the meats of choice in Greece.

The meat aisle

Organic poultry with the EU Organic Farming certification. Other than that label, nothing real signifiant in terms of claims & product attributes.

Notice some familiar American brands on the snack ailse.

Tons of fancy Greek honey.

Love this pretty honey packaging.

Natural laundry products

The Greeks take their sea salt very seriously. I buy some of these same brands at my local Greek specialty food shop in Washington, DC.

My first time seeing donkey milk.

Organic Greek chocolate

Dining space & cafe

A special perk for parents - a play space with an attendant to watch your children while you grocery shop. This mom loves seeing special accomodations for moms, parents and children.

One more shot from the roof top patio. It was so pretty, I came up here for coffee and a meeting.

If I lived in Athens, I would definitely shop here. It's a modern beautiful, store with lovely amenities and a huge variety of international products on offer. It's no wonder that Athenians are willing to drive out of their way (in some cases,) just to shop at one of the three Thanopoulos locations. 

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. 

- Lisa Mabe-Konstantopoulos, Founder, Green Purse PR

Download our 2018 list of holidays for food marketing

Download our New List of Holidays for Food Marketing + Get Access to Our Upcoming Webinar on How to Leverage Food Holidays to Drive Awareness & Sales

Ever heard of National Cheese Lover's Day, Coffee Day or Beef Tallow Day? What about Weed Day or Farmer's Day? There are a lot of these so called food holidays or marketing holidays - some are silly, but some are serious. Serious in that some of them can help drive real awareness and sales.

We see retailers, media and consumer-influencers, like food bloggers, leveraging these holidays on social media, such as Instagram, and retailers using them for in-store promotions. Some holidays, like National Cookie Day (December 4) are made into big promotions at grocery retailers like Whole Foods Market. (See an earlier post we wrote on retailers taking a bite out of Cookie Day here.) 

If you're keen to see how you can leverage food related holidays to market your specialty or natural food product, download the list here. We’ll be hosting a one-time bonus webinar session exclusively for those who downloaded this list during our initial offering phase. The webinar will highlight some of the most relevant holidays and why holidays like these are worth incorporating into your social communications program.

Good to be back in Sydney, Australia

Green Purse PR's Lisa Mabe Back in Sydney

It was so nice to be back in Sydney during June to speak at conferences and meet with some of Green Purse PR's clients. Being previously based in Sydney, many of our clients are in Australia and it's a place I absolutely love. 

Below are some photos showing a visual recap of my recent business trip. Highlights of the trip included speaking about marketing to millennial consumers at the Naturally Good Business Summit, and Naturally Good Expo / Fantastic Food + Drink Show. More on those trade shows + links to my presentations here.

While there, I toured some of the local grocery stores, and visited some of my old stomping ground. Have a look at some of the grocery stores we visited here:

• About Life in Crows Nest, Sydney

• Fourth Village Providore in Mosman, Sydney

• Woolworths in Crows Nest, Sydney

The Australian market continues to be a major focus for myself and Green Purse PR. Australia has a lot to offer the world in terms of natural and organic products. I'm keen to help those companies be successful in markets like the USA, Middle East and Asia. Learn more about our expertise and capabilities here and contact me if you're keen to learn more. 

- Lisa Mabe-Konstantopoulos, Founder, Green Purse PR

Curious to know what women in the USA think about products from Australia?

Watch this video I produced, featuring our shop-along research, for the Naturally Good Expo.

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.