Retailers, private brands find ways to get families to the dinner table
FMI is celebrating winners of its 2021 Gold Plate Awards, aiming to highlight food retailers and suppliers who demonstrate leading efforts to promote FMI’s Family Meals Movement. The winners will be honored in person during the Stir it Up event at the revived Midwinter Executive Conference.
Some of the campaigns from retailers highlight their private brands and their meal-time offerings, as ways for consumers to eat healthier, including eating more fresh vegetables and fruits, and living healthier lifestyles, mentally and emotionally.
Peapod Digital Labs, for example, earned an honorable mention for its “Easy 9 to 5” campaign, delivering four meal plans that use only nine ingredients and can make five meals in the week, many featuring its Nature’s Promise brand products. The campaign was featured in Savory magazine, television appearances and 3.1 million social impressions.
Other promotions from winning retailers addressed the importance of family mealtime and demonstrated how the chain’s can help with easy-to-make meals at home with recipes and fresh meal plans. Winners included:
Skogen’s Festival Foods- A winner in the category for retailers with 1-49 stores, the retailer launched a “Food for Neighbors” program that celebrated National Family Meal Month by raising awareness and collecting over $40,000 for local food pantries. Skogen’s dietitians hosted four live virtual cooking classes featuring family-friendly meals reaching 200 registrants with over 500 views.
Spartan Nash- A winner in the 50-199 stores category for their program “Stay Connected, Stay Strong with Family Meals,” the effort generated more than 64,000 impressions through their partnerships with mental health foundations. Spartan Nash leveraged its Kids Crew Program that brings children and guardians together in the kitchen to teach kids new skills and parents ways of connecting with the kids through conversation. Over the four weeks, Spartan Nash had a total reach of 4.5 million individuals, 13,651 live viewers for their Family Meals Made Easy Facebook live, and 17,208 impressions from their Farmers Market Event.
Hy-Vee- Winner of the retailer category of 200 or more stores, the Iowa-based chain celebrated National Family Meals Month with a focus on providing multi-cultural meals and recipes. Hy-Vee gave away 2,100 meals with multicultural choices via contactless meal giveaway events and donated $30,000 to food insecure families. Leveraging its own magazine, Hy-Vee also reached 620,000 individuals with eight pages full of recipes, pro tips, conversation starters for families and more. The effort also included dietitian-led TV segments, and many other events with food giveaways.
Big Y Foods and Coburn’s earned honorable mentions for its mealtime programs to make quick meals, offering giveaways, recipes and nutrition tips.
The supplier winner was Eggland’s Best for its “Share A Better Family Meal” program, and USA Pulses, the Sorghum Checkoff and National Pork Board, won for their program “Powerful Pairings 2021: Helping Make Family Meals Delicious and Nutritious.”
For a deeper look at each winner, go to the Gold Plate Awards page.