Oser Communications Group

GOURMET NEWS MAY 2017 www.gourmetnews.com NEWS & NOTES 9 Chobani Ad Campaign to Portray Food as a Force for Good Yogurt company Chobani LLC is releasing a new adver- tising spot about food bringing us all together that's part of a campaign planned to run throughout 2017 and be- yond. "Chobani has always been a different kind of com- pany, putting people first—from our employees to our communities to our farmers and fans," said Peter McGuinness, Chief Marketing and Brand Officer. "We believe that when a company stands for something even bigger than its products, it has the ability to bring people together and be a positive force for good. There's a lot of goodness that goes into every cup, and we wanted to tell the story of the people who make our delicious, nu- tritious products." The campaign's first advertisement is a spot titled "Fruit Symphony," featuring Chobani's employees alongside mu- sicians and vocalists singing "What the World Needs Now is Love." Directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker and screenwriter Michel Gondry, the spot pairs vocals with unconventional technology—literally harnessing fruit into instruments, like banana pianos and coconut drums. That's intended to symbolize real fruit, real people and nothing artificial, characteristics identified with Chobani products. Six employees from Chobani's North American factories, with roots ranging from Chobani's local com- munities in upstate New York and Twin Falls, Idaho, to India and Thailand, were selected from an all-employee open casting call. The full breadth of the campaign will include broadcast, digital, public relations and social elements throughout 2017 and beyond. GN Slow Food USA Launches Slow Food Nations Slow Food USA is launching Slow Food Nations with an inaugural food festival in Denver, Colorado, from July 14 through 16, 2017. Inspired by Slow Food International's biennial Terra Madre gathering in Turin, Italy, Slow Food Nations will combine the energy of a street food festival, rigor of an academic conference, and inspiration of a cul- tural exchange. Alice Waters, Ron Finley, Simran Sethi, Jack Johnson, Hosea Rosenberg, and Alon Shaya are just a few of many food movement leaders joining the festi- val. Entrance to the festival is free and includes a taste mar- ketplace with 100 exhibitors and producers, an outdoor culinary stage, gardening and cooking activities for kids and families, heritage food tastings, author talks, and many more events. Slow Food leaders from around the globe will participate in an all-day delegate summit on Friday, including small group discussions, focused working groups, and a lunch by Alice Waters that will explore school lunch as an aca- demic subject. Delegates will then serve as hosts and speak- ers during the weekend festival. The first round of ticketed events went on sale Monday, April 10. Events include taste workshops, block parties, re- gional food and farm tours, roundtable discussions, and one-of-a-kind dinners. Slow Food Nations reimagines the food festival to inspire individuals and communities to change the world through food that is good, clean and fair. As Slow Food founder Carlo Petrini says, "If you want to change the world, don't do it with sadness; do it with joy!" For the full lineup and details, visit slowfood nations.org. GN Tapping Into the Homebrew Market BY MICAH CHEEK Home brewing kits are becoming a popular gift for hobbyists, but marketing and selling the kits poses some unique challenges. Patrick Bridges, Vice Presi- dent of Sales and Marketing at Cooper's DIY, notes that holiday sales for the Mr. Beer kit are reflecting strong interest in the hobby. "It was a tremendous response; we experienced better sell through this year than many past years. By really identifying with the craft beer movement, I think it really resonated with consumers," says Bridges. "People do it because they can create new beers and share. Beer is made for special occasions, holidays and birthdays. Typically, the purchaser is the foodie; they're interested in cooking and natural ingre- dients." Part of the appeal of these kits is premixed ingredient sets that allow home brewers to make no only classic fa- vorites like IPAs and stouts, but to replicate award-win- ning and hard to find brews as well. "Many craft beers, they can't distribute outside of their state, with a commer- cial system that isn't always able to bring beers to where you live," says Bridges. "We took a couple gold medal winners and cloned their beers. It's a collaboration. If you can't get it, make it." Bringing home brewing to retail spaces has pre- sented some unexpected insights. "We sell in liquor stores and they don't do very well. People are there for instant gratification. Any kind of kit doesn't do well at liquor stores," says Bridges. "Our kits are usually sold in the kitchen or housewares department. They're often in the top 10 selling products during the holi- days." But the brick and mortar space still presents some marketing issues. "It's a long process. You can't make the beer there, plus you can't serve it. It has unique challenges in that regard," says Bridges. "Where possible we have videos we can loop to show how easy it is. The way to get people interested is to taste the beer, but we're unable to execute that at retail for obvious reasons." With expanding home brewing interests, options other than beer are getting attention. "Last year we introduced Hacked Root Beer. Things like that and some of these hard sodas are trending now. Those seem to be really driving the trends rather than ciders," says Bridges. "The big trend now is barrel-aged beers. We add wood chips, so you don't have to put it in a barrel." GN

• Cover