SpartanNash Debuts Kids Crew Mascots

SpartanNash's new Kids Crew mascots aim to make healthy choices more fun and interactive for children and reinforce the company's commitment to health and wellness in every aisle of its retail stores. 

Each mascot represents a different food group in the USDA’s MyPlate initiative:

• Fruits: Fuji the monkey is a tennis player, and his favorite food is fruit salad. He teaches kids to eat fruit and to be creative and resourceful to reduce food waste.
• Veggies: Pepper the rabbit likes to skateboard, and her favorite foods are carrots with hummus and veggie pizza. Pepper teaches kids to eat lots of veggies to be alert and focused.
• Grains:Oatis the horse is a soccer player, and his favorite foods are oatmeal and pasta. Oatis teaches kids to choose whole grains for energy to fuel their bodies to run, jump and play.
• Proteins: Chia the cheetah likes to run, and her favorite foods are tuna fish and beans. She teaches kids to eat protein foods and to be physically active every day.
• Dairy: Colby the polar bear is a hockey player, and his favorite food is cheese. He teaches kids about dairy foods and building strong bones and muscles.
• Healthy fats and limiting added sugar: While she doesn’t represent a food group, Olive the owl teaches kids how nutritious foods help us to learn and be intelligent. Her favorite foods are sunflower seeds and nuts. Olive likes to play chess and read.

“Kids Crew encourages our store guests to think about nutrition and eating healthy in a fun and different way, and Colby, Oatis and the whole gang will help kids see the importance of each food group that makes up MyPlate,” SpartanNash's Chief Merchandising and Marketing Officer Lori Raya said. “Food plays such an important role in our everyday lives, and our Kids Crew mascots are just another way we’re helping our customers on their health-and-wellness journey.”

To learn more about each character and find healthy recipes, consumers can visit the various SpartanNash banner websites, including those for Family Fare, D&W Fresh Market, VG’s Grocery, Dan’s Supermarket, Family Fresh Market and Forest Hills Foods. 

Store customers can look for the Kids Crew mascots in SpartanNash stores, snap a photo, and submit it to [email protected] to be entered to win a gift card and other Kids Crew prizes. Each month, one winner from each store banner will be randomly selected.

Kids Crew also includes educational activities, including in-store tours; Free Fresh Fruit for Kids, such as bananas and clementines; and online resources.

SpartanNash’s core businesses include distributing grocery products to independent and chain retailers, its corporate-owned retail stores, and U.S. military commissaries and exchanges, as well as fresh produce distribution and fresh food processing. No. 33 on Progressive Grocer’s 2019 Super 50 list of the top grocers in the United States, the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based company serves customer locations in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, Europe, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Bahrain, Djibouti and Egypt. SpartanNash operates 156 supermarkets, mainly under the banners of Family Fare, Martin’s Super Markets, D&W Fresh Market, VG’s Grocery, and Dan’s Supermarket. Through its MDV military division, the company distributes grocery products to U.S. military commissaries.