Visit AmericanPistachios.in APG LAUNCHES INDIA CAMPAIGN American Pistachio Growers launched its first-ever promotional campaign in India this month with advertising, retail promotions, endorsements, and a new website. The campaign is funded in part by the Agricultural Trade Promotion grant APG secured from USDA with matching funds from the organization’s assessments. Already, shipments to India are three times greater than the same time last year.
THIS TIME IT’S PERSONAL. In a nation with a large percentage of its population being vegetarian or vegan, the campaign broke with full-page ads in newspapers and magazines across every region. Some advertisements and promotional materials prominently feature APG members. “When doing our research, we were advised to use professional models from India in our literature, advertising and on the new website. Instead, we chose to use our own APG family of growers of Indian descent, many of whom originated in the Punjab region,” said Judy Hirigoyen, VP of Global Marketing. “I think it personalizes the campaign and opens doors for conversations about our growers and their pride in farming.”
A SHOCKING SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN
Although pistachios are well known in India, their health benefits are not. An idea sparked by an Indian importer is now the foundation of the APG social media campaign in India—“SHOCKING FACTS!” This series of nutrition factoids compares pistachios from California to other foods in India commonly thought to be healthy. “When we visited India and shared the health benefits of pistachios with importers there, we were shocked that they were shocked,” said Alison Nagatani, Chair of the Marketing Communications Committee. “Their minds were blown, and one importer even said that if we can teach these shocking facts to Indian consumers, we will make brand ambassadors of everyday people.”
Shiny Chandran
Sports and Weight Management Consultant
Rashmi Cherian
Sports & Exercise Nutritionist, Neuro-Nutrition Specialist, Nutrigenomics Expert, National Health Award Winning Sports Nutritionist
TOP NUTRITIONISTS TOUT PISTACHIO BENEFITS Seven esteemed Indian nutritionists support APG’s effort with outreach and advertorials that will run in Indian newspapers and magazines. With topics ranging from sports nutrition to diabetes management, their participation lends credibility to the “Power of Pistachios”campaign.
Kavita Devgan
Naini Setalvad
Vaibhav Garg
Wahida Karmally PH, RD, CDE, CLS, FNAL
Nutritionist, Weight Management Consultant and Author
Sports Performance Nutritionist, Metabolic Disorders Expert
Obesity, Lifestyle and Disease Consultant
Director of Nutrition, Irving Institute for Clinical and Translation Research
PISTACHIO RECIPES AND VIDEOS Indian and Middle Eastern cuisines make use of pistachios more than is seen in the U.S. and Europe, so it was important to gain the support of top Indian chefs to urge the use of American pistachios in dishes for flavor and added nutrition.
WATCH THE HOW-TO VIDEOS
GREAT = QUICK SUPPORT
RESULTS
With the direct involvement of the top importers in India and the planning of APG’s Marketing Communications Committee, the campaign is off to a strong start, with unprecedented orders shipped in time for the campaign’s launch. The Diwali holiday, which is historically the peak buying time for pistachios in India, is around the corner. Thanks to the great cooperation of our APG member processors and Indian importers, we’ve seen a surge of 161 percent in shipments ahead of the September launch.
PROMOTIONS AMERICAN PISTACHIOS:
THE PERFECT SNACK FOR
MOMS-TO-BE APG’s continued goal is to increase awareness of the health and fitness benefits of American pistachios for mothers-to-be who have gestational diabetes. To this end, a series of digital advertisements appeared on three of China’s popular maternal websites. From May to June, the banner ads were linked to APG’s “Happy Pregnancy” short vidoes, which were viewed more than 9 million times. Click Here to view the short videos.
Babytree
Lamabang
Marbang
CHEERS TO AMERICAN PISTACHIOS
AND M99 CRAFT BEER APG collaborated with M99 Beer, a popular craft beer sold in eight retail stores in Chengdu and Chongqing, China. The perfect pairing of American pistachios and M99 beer was celebrated through journalist events in each city to help spread the word. Ms. Li Li, Commissioner of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Trading Office in China, joined thirty-five journalists who attended the kick-off events. The sixteen-day promotion garnered twenty-one articles about the promotion and 32 million views by consumers. The USDA also promoted the event on their Weibo social media platform—one of China’s social media platforms.
Then, from August 2-17, customers who ordered M99 beer were served a free tasting of American pistachios and given the option to buy packages of pistachios to snack on with their beer. As a result, sales of the two retail brands—packed with American pistachios--during the promotion, totaled $30,000. Because the customers loved the pistachios, M99 Beer decided to permanently sell the brands with American pistachios in their eight stores.
SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCERS
In June, APG teamed up with select health and fitness influencers who have a large following of health-conscious consumers. Through social media, APG used their influential voices and authenticity to reach a large audience of active consumers regarding the health and fitness benefits of pistachios. APG China partnered with influencers representing foodies, moms-to-be, and the sport sector. The influencer promotion resulted in a total reach of over 4.6 million consumers.
APG also collaborated with Marsha, a fitness and food blogger in Hamburg, Germany. On her blog, “Eine Prise Lecker,” she shares healthy and low-calorie recipes. Her focus: How to turn a “calorie bomb” into a low calorie healthy meal or snack by replacing the very fatty or sugary ingredients with healthier options.
In Germany, APG also connected with active consumers via Christian Cullmann (Culli Runs), an avid runner who posts on Instagram frequently about his running experiences and tips for a healthier lifestyle.
JOURNALIST EVENTS
Thirty-five journalists and food bloggers attended APG’s June 6 journalist event with Chef Kevin von Holt and APG nutrition expert Dr. Wiebke Elsner, in Hamburg, Germany. Topic of discussion: Food-Trend Healthy Hedonist, which included the discussion about the pleasurable effect of eating American-grown pistachios. In Italy, APG made desk-side visits to the editorial offices of leading health and fitness publications to share the good news about two recent studies. One study showed that by adding two ounces of pistachios into a daily snacking routine may help reduce damage to DNA. A second study showed pistachios contain high amounts of melatonin, relative to other foods.
NUTRITION CONFERENCES
2019 ACADEMIC SUMMIT Zhengzhou, China, June 16
APG nutrition expert Dr. Ge presented the Clinical Research Progress of Nutrition and the Health Care Effect of Pistachios to over 200 nutrition professionals at the 2019 Academic Summit in Zhengzhou, China. The goal of the 2019 Academic Summit was to establish the grand blueprint of a healthy China. Later that day, APG also hosted a media event with Dr. Ge and Dr. Xiang Siyun, a nutritionist from Henan Provincial People's Hospital, to present recent research findings about American pistachios and their many nutritional benefits. Eighteen journalists attended the event generating 19 articles about American pistachios. The news was viewed more than 15 million times by consumers.
2019 KOREAN DIETETIC ASSOCIATION (KDA) NUTRITION EXHIBITION July 25-26, 2019
APG exhibited at the KDA Nutrition Exhibition to promote the nutritional benefits of American pistachios. Over 1,100 nutrition professionals attended the exhibition; six articles were generated and viewed more than 195,000 times by consumers.
SAMPLING EVENTS At fitness events in Germany and Spain, APG’s 100-calorie sample packages of pistachios were included in the race goody bags along with other nutritional snacks such as bananas, apples, water and juice. Runners not only sampled delicious pistachios but also read about their nutritional benefits that are strategically located on the back of the APG sample pack.
KITE SURF MASTERS FINALS Sankt Peter-ording, Germany, August 25
LA INDURAIN CYCLING RACE Villava (Navarra), Spain, July 20
La Indurain Cycling Race was created in 1992 in honor of Miguel Indurain’s first Tour de France victory in 1991. Miguel Indurain, shown here enjoying American pistachios, is one of the best professional cyclists of all time. He was winner of the Tour de France for five consecutive years (1991 - 1995) and the Tour of Italy on two consecutive occasions (1992 - 1993).
15K NOCTURNA VALENCIA RUN
Valencia, Spain, June 8
NORTE-SUR RUN
Madrid, Spain, June 16
PISTACHIO PARTY AT THE OLD TOWN CLOVIS FARMERS MARKET
September 27, 2019 5:30 PM to 9:00 PM
THE LAST FARMERS MARKET OF THE YEAR ENDS WITH A
BANG SNAP CRUNCH Cooking Demonstrations Photo Opportunities Free Pistachio Samples Don’t miss this night in Old Town Clovis! For more information visit, oldtownclovis.org or visit us on Facebook
HOSTED BY:
2020 A N N U A L C O N F E R E N C E March 2-4, 2020 • Monterey, California The American Pistachio Growers Annual Conference is the largest gathering for pistachio growers and industry leaders, drawing attendees from across the United States. Get ready to enjoy three power-packed days of networking, education and community. New products to share, new relationships to forge and friendships to cultivate await you. Fill your brain, inspire your heart, and get excited to grow.
2020 ANNUAL CONFERENCE KEYNOTE SPEAKER Dr. Oz has won ten Daytime Emmy® Awards for The Dr. Oz Show and is an attending physician at New York’s Presbyterian-Columbia Medical Center. He still performs dozens of heart operations annually. His research interests include heart replacement surgery, minimally invasive surgery, alternative medicine and health care policy. He has authored over 400 original publications, book chapters, and medical books, and has received numerous patents. He also writes a newspaper column syndicated by Hearst in 175 markets internationally. You won't want to miss him kick things off in Monterey.
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