CHARLOTTE, NC - Love is in the air. What is it, exactly, that has the ANUK team feeling the love this fine January? Dole Food Company has sparked a celebration of fruit love stories, rolling out a five-month healthy-living initiative intended to celebrate the iconic role that fresh fruit plays on the plate and encourage consumers to add even more to their daily diets.
“From a baby’s first banana to baking blueberry pies with grandma, summertime watermelons and cantaloupes busting with flavor to pumpkins in the fall—yes, pumpkins are a fruit!—fresh fruit holds a uniquely nostalgic appeal for many of us,” said Melanie Marcus, MA, RD, Dole’s Nutrition and Health Communications Manager. “It’s exactly the place that fresh fruit has at the center of some of life’s best memories and most celebrated moments that we honor today.”
The supplier’s newest campaign, Fruit Love, is inspired by classic Disney characters and is complemented by recipes, digital downloads, and social interactions celebrating apples, bananas, strawberries, pineapples, peaches, pears, and other farm-fresh favorites.
The 12 new fruit-focused recipes—including a combination of vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, low-fat, and low-sodium choices—are now available on the Fruit Love webpage. Some of the flavorful creations include:
- Banana, Raspberry, & Chia Layered Parfait
- Nutty Chipmunk Cookies
- Vegan Cheeseburger Skillet
- Buttermilk Squash Mac and Cheese
- Carrot Pigs in a Blanket
- French Onion Soup with Arugula Pesto
- Pineapple Chicken Stir Fry
- Sweet Potato Banana Bread
- One-Skillet Sloppy Joe Sliders
The program also brings six new, limited-edition collectible DOLE® Banana stickers and DOLE Pineapple tags featuring Disney Baby Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Pluto, and Stitch, a press release explained. Dole has also posted a Fruit Love Club Printable Banana Sticker Peel & Play Book that is now available for free download on its webpage.
More fresh-forward strategies are sure to pop up across our industry, and ANUK will be here to report.
