EXCLUSIVE: Shining the Spotlight on Food Allergies
Inspired by the holiday season, By Food Allergy Moms, for Food Allergy Moms is a new campaign from creative marketing agency Kiosk in collaboration with Latitude Food Allergy Care. Speaking directly to moms dealing with their kids’ food allergies, the campaign aims to foster inclusion and joy — rather than just fear and avoidance – at a time of year when food-allergy families are anxiously managing careful food planning.
The natural places to feature such a campaign were retailers that sell food. Accordingly, By Food Allergy Moms, for Food Allergy Moms has rolled out grocery cart signage at San Francisco Bay Area Mollie Stone’s Markets, Safeway and Lucky stores, while an in-venue sanitizer wipe station is featured at Walgreens, CVS and Safeway locations in the Bay Area and Brooklyn, N.Y. The campaign encompasses print/out of home (OOH); digital media efforts (paid social and display ads); and placements within online mothers’ groups/blogs in the Bay Area.
To find out more, Progressive Grocer connected exclusively with Munir Haddad, co-founder and CEO of Novato, Calif.-based Kiosk, and Kim Yates, founder and CEO of Redwood City, Calif.-based Latitude and mother to Tessa, who has severe food allergies.
[Related: Dierbergs Adds App to Help Shoppers With Dietary Needs]
Progressive Grocer: What was the impetus for this campaign, and how did you decide on its objective and various components?
Munir Haddad: Latitude wants to reach potential patients and parents of patients. We wanted to bring the message to the place where they would be thinking the most about their food choices. Using shopping carts and in-venue placements at grocery stores near Latitude facilities in the Bay Area and in New York City is a great way to marry Latitude’s campaign messaging with our prospect’s frame of mind. These placements boost awareness and encourage outreach through captivating creative.
The way for brands to break through the media clutter is to place their messaging in areas where their prospects and consumers are in the right frame of mind to receive the message. For Latitude, it makes sense to help our food allergy families know that there is help in the place where they are thinking about it most. Retail media is a great way to share this message.
In the case of hand wipe kiosks, we also thought about the position of these kiosks within the store, e.g., near the pharmacies, entrances and point-of-sale locations in each store.
Moving forward with an awareness campaign, we knew that late summer and fall would be a key time to get into the market for us. This is when children are returning to school, and we have food-focused holidays like Halloween, Thanksgiving and December holidays. This is when food allergies are top of mind and when children may need to get new EpiPens at their local pharmacies.
PG: How did you pitch the campaign to area grocery stores and get their buy-in?
MH: We worked with retail media vendors who have existing relationships with grocery stores, and we selected these stores for paid placements based on their proximity to the Latitude offices, along with shopper characteristics, weekly shoppers/foot traffic and average dwell times. The goal was to place our messaging in front of as many potential Latitude families as possible, in a cost-efficient manner.
PG: When did the campaign roll out, and what sort of response have you seen from retailers and shoppers so far? How well do you think efforts like yours are raising awareness of food allergies and inspiring action?
MH: The grocery store placements began rolling out in August 2024, with digital placements for the campaign beginning earlier. Since the start of the campaign, we have seen a steady monthly increase in branded search terms and web traffic, leading us to believe the awareness efforts are having a positive impact.
PG: How do you intend to develop this campaign going forward? For example, are there plans for additional elements to be added or expansion to other stores?
MH: The campaign is expected to continue into 2025 with similar and new placements across digital, print and OOH. The sanitizer wipe stations (near pharmacies and store entrances) have provided the largest response, so the campaign extension will include those placements in new stores across the Bay Area and NYC regions.
PG: What advice do you have for food retailers in the area of food allergies in regard to how they market or merchandise foods and how their staffers can help allergy moms and families navigate the aisles?
Kim Yates: Retailers who address the needs of the more than 33 million Americans with food allergies gain not only customers, but advocates. Providing allergen-free sections and clear signage for “free-from” options shows a commitment to shopper safety and convenience. Food allergy families are fiercely loyal to risk-free brands and only shop at stores they trust to be safe and supportive.
