Retailers Seeing PMA's ‘Eat Brighter!’ Light

More than 40 retailers representing more than 19,000 stores across the U.S. and Canada are on board with Produce Marketing Association's "Eat Brighter!" initiative, which aims to change the game of marketing in the fresh produce industry.

Explains Todd Putman, CMO of Bolthouse Farms and chairman of PMA’s marketing taskforce: “The goal here is grand, but simple – to change the conversation around fresh produce and inspire kids to think about fruits and veggies in a completely different way." Describing the U.S. as being "in a serious health crisis…and our industry has the answer," Eat Brighter depicts "exactly what we need to help the entire industry come together…and ultimately create healthier generations for decades to come.”

Growing both in support and offerings, officials from the Newark, Del-based PMA bestow high marks to the retail community, which has not only provided strong backing for the "Eat Brighter" initiative, but which is also eager to accept the participating suppliers' Sesame Street-branded product into their stores. On a related note, PMA has unveiled a series of program and marketing updates to foster widespread utilization throughout the produce industry to incorporate the Sesame Street character images, royalty-free, into their marketing schemes.

“We're delighted by the response from both the supply- and buy-side of the industry,” says Cathy Burns, PMA president. "We’ve spoken with each and every one of these companies, and they believe in the movement to help kids eat more fruits and vegetables. They are all industry leaders, and recognize that success is defined through the collaboration and support they lend to one another.”

New Eat Brighter updates and additions include:

• Canada joins the U.S. as an approved region
• PLU and co-branding guidelines for packaging labels
• Thematic/Seasonal campaigns in the marketing toolkit
• School foodservice and commodity boards are now approved for participation
• Spanish and French translations

Early adopters are introducing "Eat Brighter!" into nearly 50 product lines for retail outlets in the U.S. and Canada, a full list of which is available by visiting www.pma.com/eatbrighter.