Cal-Organic Farms Launches First-Ever Consumer Brand Campaign

Leading Grower Will Highlight the Farmer Behind the Food

BAKERSFIELD, CA, MARCH 29, 2018—This week Cal-Organic Farms, a pioneer of organic farming, launched an innovative, integrated marketing campaign designed to bridge the gap between organic consumers and organic farmers.

Cal-Organic is a fully owned subsidiary of parent company Grimmway Farms, the largest producer of carrots in the world. The campaign, coined ‘Handled with Care,’ is designed to raise awareness of the Cal-Organic brand among health-minded, food-forward consumers. It is the first direct-to-consumer marketing campaign the company has produced for the Cal-Organic brand.

The initiative began a year ago when the company conducted primary research with organic shoppers. The goal was to understand the consumer’s mindset as it relates to organic produce and brand awareness.

“We know consumer preferences around organic produce are both profound and evolving,” said Kellen Stailey, Vice President of Marketing, Grimmway Farms. “After gaining a clearer picture of what those attitudes look like, we felt it was the right time to tell our story.

“We knew going in that the organic industry is emotionally-charged. What we didn’t know was the extent to which brand was already playing a pivotal role in produce departments. We also got a firm understanding of the aided and unaided awareness of the Cal-Organic brand. When we looked at the various data points, we recognized that our consumers’ behaviors around organic produce consideration, purchase and loyalty are shifting and we needed to address that change.”

The cornerstone of the ‘Handled with Care’ campaign is a branded content initiative in partnership with food media network Tastemade. Tastemade is an 8-year old platform that has quickly ascended to be a media leader, serving over 2 billion impressions each month to a predominately millennial and Gen Z audience.

“We are seeing more and more energy put toward raising brand awareness, encouraging trial and building loyalty in fresh organic produce. And it makes perfect sense. There’s some confusion in the marketplace amongst consumers as to what exactly ‘organic’ means, why it’s important and how farms are upholding the integrity of the USDA organic
certification. We wanted to address those things in our dialog with consumers,” said Eric Proffitt, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Grimmway Farms.

“We looked at a number of potential platforms and partners. But once we’d drilled down to our very specific objectives for the campaign, we knew Tastemade was the right fit—their hard-earned audience are the young, upwardly mobile and food-forward consumers that will be driving trends for years to come. We are not a mass advertising kind of company. We wanted to take our message to a place where people are already talking about food, looking for inspiration and planning their next culinary adventure.”

Check out the Kale Toast & Dijon Salmon recipe video that went live on Facebook and Instagram on Monday. Stay tuned for the ‘Handled with Care’ original series, an episodic docuseries on Cal-Organic farming practices, and more recipes launching throughout April and May.