YUMA, AZ – Consumers are continuing to quench their palates with the exciting flavor profiles of dates, and to further tap in on that penchant, Natural Delights™ has announced a new partnership with Food52, and a subsequent new promotion.
“We’re thrilled to partner with such a well respected media brand and influential driver of consumer food trends. Our partnership with Food52 is designed to drive purchase of the Natural Delights brand, and educate consumers about the versatility and nutritional qualities of our Medjool dates,” stated Erin Hanagan-Muths, Director of Marketing, Bard Valley Date Growers.
The partnership will be embodied through a new four-and-a-half week recipe contest to continue putting Medjool dates top-of-mind. According to a press release, Natural Delights expects the promotion to reach over 4.5 million consumers and food influencers.
Consumers, along with the Food52 network of foodies and home chefs, will create their own delicious recipes that include Natural Delights Medjool dates. Up to ten finalists will have their recipes put to the test by Food52 recipe developers and professionally photographed by Food52’s team of stylists.
“By redefining the Medjool date category and focusing on powerful promotions like our Food52 partnership we have been able to go from leading the category to being the category. When shoppers are looking for dates, they are actively seeking out the Natural Delights brand,” continued Hanagan-Muths.
This partnership will mark the beginning of a 365 omni-channel marketing campaign that will include the following aspects throughout the 2017-18 season in the U.S. and Canada:
- National print advertising
- Programmatic digital advertising
- Content partnerships
- Consumer influencer promotions
- Event marketing
- Social media content marketing
Bard Valley Date Growers stated that the Natural Delights brand now accounts for over 85% of the total date category share of dollars and volume, due in part to the strategic repositioning of the Medjool date category through continuous promotions and marketing campaigns over the past three years. The company also stated that the brand experiences high sales rates in comparison to other brands.
Throughout 2017, Natural Delights will offer retailers a complete support kit that will include co-branded advertising opportunities, and branded merchandising tools in order to create a date destination in the produce department. These tools will assist retailers to take advantage of the growing demand for Natural Delights products.
As the dates category continues to grow, AndNowUKnow will have all the latest in strategic partnerships and promotions.
