On May 27th, Imalinx organized a Bakery Webinar with Chef Irving Quiroz to talk about the “Uses of California Raisins i bakery” The Chef developed 3 recipes with raisins as the main ingredient and he explained the process of each one during the webinar.
The webinar was broadcasted on Zoom with a total of 461 registered attendees and 311 total users during 90 minutes. The webinar was also shared on Facebook Live , generating 604 more live views with the possibility of watching again, reaching 32k views by the end of May!
The activity was a total success, especially during this period where people are at home eager to learn something new every day. After the webinar we received many comments asking where to buy California Raisins, sharing their own recipes and greetings for making this webinar.
To celebrate National Raisin Day (USA) in Mexico, we coordinated a media experience in Mexico so media contacts could enjoy a naturally sweet snack from home.
The activity was coordinated with our public relations agency, who selected specialized media (foodies, nutrition, mommy bloggers among others) to send them a kit of California raisins to their home. The kit included a mason jar with California raisins branded material and a digital recipe book with 5 healthy snacks made by our nutrition specialist Fernanda Alvarado.
Total results: 14 distributed media kits, more than 20 publications in digital and social media.
Also, we sent two press releases to specialized cooking, bakery, nutrition, and gastronomy media with the goal of sharing relevant information about the benefits of baking with California raisins. We also took the opportunity to talk about the history of National Raisin Day.
This year, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) sponsor the Superama Race, it took place on February 29, at the CU Stadium with a total of 5,000 runners in the categories of 5 or 10 km.
The sponsorship included two days of activation, the first one during the kit delivery and the second in the race, with a stand branded by CDFA, California Raisins and Halos Mandarins. The objective was to increase the brand awareness of the California Products and share key messages through a consumer kit delivered to the runners at the end of the race.
On both days the runners were invited to scan the QR code printed on a flyer made with recycled paper, the code sends them to a landing page with more information and the ones who completed their register was available to enjoy the product sampling. This dynamic was created for the generation of a database that resulted in 319 new contacts.
Our landing page had 478 visits, 429 clicks and a survey with runners favorite products:
36% Halo Mandarins
24% California Raisins
21% California Oranges
19% Wonderful Pistachios
The runners were so grateful about the product sampling because it was an excellent alternative for their recovery, after the effort made during the race.
In conjunction with Sam´s Club, a plan was made for samplings of California Raisins in 30 different stores, covering 20 states of Mexican Republic. The promotional product was under the name “Members Mark; own brand of Sam´s Club.
The promotion was supported by social media and printed materials to share recipes, nutritional data and, the benefits of eating 40 g. raisins a day with consumers. The goal was to invite young consumers and moms to include California Raisins on their daily diet as a healthy snack.
The result of the promotion was positive with a total of 3.5 tons of raisins were sold, on average sales per day with demo girls were 170 bags with 1.3 kg of California raisins each.
As part of the Diversification Strategy for California Raisins, activities were developed to share the brand’s message in other regions of the country where the Artisanal Bakery is growing; covering this year it was delivered at Mexico City, Puebla, Tijuana and, Monterrey.
The seminar was taught by Dr. and Baker Master Klaus Tenbergen and, food scientist Dr. Priscilla Santiago with technical expertise on Bakery and Raisins from California.
About 190 bakers attended, who received technical information and, the benefits of incorporating California Raisins into the bread. In addition, there was talk about quality standards, the seasons and processes of sowing and harvesting raisins, their health benefits and by products, such as pasta and raisin juice.
There was a total coverage of 20 media outlets at the different sites, representing a reach of 300 942 members of the industry.
The baking competition took place in Mexico City from April 10th to 12th with a total of 12 participant teams, consisting of Baker Chefs and a Sous Chefs.
The event lasted 3 days and, 33 products were developed. Each team must bake a brioche, a croissant and an innovative bread with California Raisins. After the deliberation of the members of the jury, the team of the bakery, Saint Honore from Queretaro, was awarded first place.
The award was a Bakery Training at the Culinary Institute of America in Napa, California.
Imalinx awarded the prize to the first place of the annual California Raisin Baking Contest in Mexico, Carlos Guido traveled to California accompanied by Sandra Corona, the product development manager of El Globo, the Mexico’s largest bakery.
Both had the opportunity to get involved with the process of harvesting California Raisin, learned the industry history, learned about the high standards of cultivation and packaging processes, which result in high quality products.
Between the bakery contest and his training in California, Carlos developed a total of 10 different products with the potential to be marketed.
El Globo had interest in knowing more about product availability during the year, to introduce at least 3 new products to the market in different seasons.
The Second Foodservice Cup of Bakery was carried out 3 days within the framework of Expo Sirha 2018. The aim of the event was to increase the product development and to show to the bakers the California Raisin versatility in baked products.
Annual Baking Contest was developed during Expo Sirha where nine pairs from the Mexican Republic and Guatemala participated in the event, which involved five bread categories that had to include the two varieties of California Raisin, currants and sultanas. The result was 45 baked products and the winning pair was the Corazón Latino company.
The prize was a trip to Napa California to visit the raisin crops and to receive a training at the Culinary Institute of America.
The Raisin Administrative Committee organized the Third Master Baking Seminar with the participation of the chefs and writers of the book “Bread, Flavor and Tradition”, Didier Rosada and Juan Manuel Martinez Solarte.
The seminar goal was to train chefs and bakers on the versatility and the process of California Raisin harvesting and its uses in bakery products. At the end of the event gift bags were given, the seminar recipe book and the complete presentation so that the ideas could be used by the assistants in their companies. The event communication allowed to reach to more than 210 executives chefs and bakers registered, from great companies as El Globo, Nestle, Hyatt and Four Seasons.
The Raisin Administrative Committee of California stablished an alliance with El Globo, a French-style gourmet bakery which is part of Grupo Bimbo and is a market leader in Mexico.
During the Christmas season, products were made with both varieties of Raisin, such as Fruitcakes and Panettone.
Samplings were made at 40 “El Globo” sale points for 80 days to boost the products sale. And marketing materials were designed and placed at the stores to increase visibility.
The purpose was to encourage California Raisins sales and provide information to consumers about theirs benefits, applications and characteristics.
An increase in sales of 2% for Panettone and 10% for Fruitcake were the results of the 6 weeks campaign. El Globo made its first purchase of raisin for the development of its products.