The participants were 15 stores of La Torre in Guatemala, 15 Super Selectos stores and 15 Walmart stores in El Salvador. Training and practices were carried out to encourage the inclusion of 2 new varieties of potatoes, the Red Potato and the Purple Potato of Idaho.
Potato Idaho sales at participating stores increased 50%.
The second edition of the massive Yoga for Peace event was held in Mexico City, attended by more than 600 participants of different nationalities and ages.
The attendees tasted the two varieties of Zespri Green and Sungold kiwifruit, the objective was to clearly communicate Zespri’s message of being in favor of peace and well-being, so the guests were invited to refresh themselves with some kiwifruits.
More than 500 people received promotional material, information and enjoyed the flavor of conventional and organic Zespri.
As part of the consumer public relations program of the Idaho Potato Commission, Imalinx contacted a group of international bloggers to travel to Idaho and live the experience of knowing the entire process that the Idaho Potatoes go through to reach the consumer table.
The publications of all participants talked about the benefits, the way of harvest, the added value, recipes and the experience lived in Idaho.
The group was made up of bloggers focused on food from Guatemala, Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama and Puerto Rico.
Formed by Chef Citlali Huerta and Hussein Cárdenas of the TV Azteca program called “Con ganas” (with willingness) in the northern region of Mexico. With more than 3,000 followers on Facebook. Additionally, the Chef also published in her personal account with more than 2,000 followers.
With more than 14,790 followers on Instagram, 5,500 followers on Facebook and 2,000 on Twitter. The author, Jorge Chanis made publications using the hashtag #RicasPapasDeIdaho.
Mara Corado Valls, the owner of NuChef, with more than 3,000 followers on Instagram and Twitter and approximately 1,000 followers on Facebook.
An account with more than 5,700 followers on Facebook, 4,297 on Twitter and 3,065 on Instagram. He published the best moments of the experience and some with content focused on the Idaho Potato harvest.
At the end of the project, the 4 bloggers totaled 73 posts in the 3 social networks. Approximately 55,000 people were reached, and the posts generated traffic to our Idaho Potato Fan Page on Facebook.
In May 2016, the Master Seminar was held, and it gathered 307 industry professionals from Mexico City, Guadalajara, Puebla, Querétaro, Tabasco and Monterrey.
According to the figures, 73% of the attendees were bakers, 14% restaurant managers and hotel chains, 8% culinary institutes and 5% supermarkets and corporate chains.
The seminar was taught by Craig Ponsford, a professor at the Culinary Institute of America, accompanied by Bread Bakers, winners of the First California Raisins Bakery Contest that took place in Mexico City in 2015. The bakers developed 12 recipes to show the process during the seminar and share the best baking techniques.
The main objectives of the event were:
• Communicate the benefits and applications of baking with California Raisins, as well present its properties that make it a versatile product.
• Report on new bakery trends, such as the use of dough, fermentation processes, use of whole grains and benefits of wheat flour.
Attendees were invited to integrate California Raisins into their baked products and to participate in the Second Bakery Contest in 2016.
In October, the commercial mission for the Producers of the Western United States of America was carried out, focused on the main importers of beer, wines and snacks.
Attendees created business relationships and attended the Great American Beer Festival held annually in Denver, Colorado.
In order to promote the Zespri kiwifruits, a breakfast was organized at the Zapote Restaurant in Mexico City, and media and
bloggers focused on gastronomy and nutrition were invited to enjoy both
varieties of Zespri kiwifruit, Sungold and Green in different
presentations of meals and drinks.
During lunch, the
attendees were explained the gastronomic and nutritional benefits that Zespri offers, as well as its quality level and what
differentiates it from other fruits.
Representatives of
the New Zealand Embassy attended the event and spoke about the importance of
the alliance between the two countries.
As part of the activations during the Zespri Kiwifruit program with McDonald’s, the recovery snack after the 5K race organized by McDonald’s Mexico was a delicious Zespri kiwifruits. This activity helped to consolidate Zespri’s positioning in the Happy Meal.
The McDonald’s Race was held in Mexico City and more than 2,000 participants enjoyed a delicious kiwifruit at the end of the race.
The activity resulted in an increase in Zespri brand recall from 21% to 47% according to the campaign evaluation market study.
With the aim of motivating bakery industry professionals to use California Raisins, a recipe contest was called with the following categories: salted bread, sweetbread, snacks or the base for other recipes.
The winning recipe award was a course at the Culinary Institute of America in Napa, California.
And the winning breads were a concha with raisins and a raisin sauce for light fried pastries.
In 2015,
McDonald’s and Zespri Kiwifruitfruit joined their efforts to develop a healthy feeding
program for families through the promotion of including Zespri Sungold Kiwifruit variety in McDonald’s Happy Meal.
As part of
this launching campaign, at McDonald’s branch in Sunken Park, a recording
was held, of children and parents experimenting and enjoying a delicious Zespri Sungold kiwifruit where they knew the benefits of the
product and were given the brand promotions.
The campaign
lasted 5 weeks, around 1.3 million kiwifruits were delivered to more than
400 restaurants in the country and having an impact of more than 1 million
smiles achieved.
A press conference was coordinated to promote
the alliance of Zespri and McDonald’s Mexico. Presenting the scoop of
Zespri Kiwifruits in the Happy Meal worldwide.
National media interviewed Carol Ward, General Manager of Marketing at Zespri,
and Félix Ramírez, Head of Corporate Communications at McDonald’s Mexico.
In addition to this event, interviews with international media resulted in
articles and high visibility for Zespri and McDonad’s.