January 2020 - 34

CHERRY MARKETING INSTITUTE
Marketplace responds to healthy tart cherries
JULIE GORDON
CFO/Export Marketing Director
JGordon@usacherries.com
develop on their own. Together, the industry
continues to show that Montmorency truly
is the " cherry with more. "
CMI's annual meeting this year is
The tart cherry industry promotion
program kicked off the fiscal year in
October 2019 and is already seeing strong
results in the marketplace. With a goal
of driving demand by positioning U.S.
Montmorency tart cherries as a superfruit
that has a daily place in the lives of
consumers and an on-trend ingredient
that food manufacturers should include
in their foods and beverages, the program
uses recent consumer research as the
foundation of the program.
The industry conducted consumer
research in 2018 to determine the optimal
audiences for growth, the most motivating
messages to drive tart cherry consumption
and the places the target audience seek and
are most receptive to health and nutrition
information. That research became the
backbone of the program and helped the
industry focus its dollars to drive demand.
As sour flavors dominate today's food
trends and consumers shift away from
sweet, this year's program shows that U.S.
Montmorency tart cherries offer an ontrend
flavor profile that is cropping up in
innovative new products and is the " it "
fruit of 2020. Through compelling social
media ads, partnering with influential
bloggers and encouraging editors to
include tart cherries in news articles, the
program leveraged the holiday season to
inspire target audiences to explore the
unique sweet-sour taste of tart cherries
and will begin to promote innovative new
tart cherry products on social media.
In early 2020, the program will focus
scheduled for Jan. 15, 2020, at the Grand
Traverse Resort in Acme, Michigan. Our
meeting is held in conjunction with the
Orchard and Vineyard Show scheduled
for Jan. 14-15. Our morning sessions will
be held in the meeting room inside the
Orchard and Vineyard Show.
Susan Wilcox-Olsen will start the
program off with a National Cherry
Festival report at 9 a.m. followed
by Carolyn Westcomb from Weber
Shandwick with results from the 201819
national promotion program and
program plans for 2019-20. I will present
export program results and plans as well
as the CMI year-end report.
Our luncheon speaker will be Brad
Burke from Weber Shandwick and will
on the fact that as Americans are eating
more plant-based foods, vegetables tend
to get all the glory, while fruit is often
left behind. When people choose fruit,
it's most often apples and bananas. The
program will show that if your fruits are
pale, that's a red flag. And, that Americans
should opt for a more colorful choice with
a superfruit like ruby-red Montmorency
tart cherries since they offer a unique
bundle of health benefits not found in
other fruits.
To tell this superfruit story, the
industry will be partnering with respected
registered dietitians to include tart
cherries in news segments and social
media content.
In addition to the consumer program,
the industry has efforts to encourage
B2B use of tart cherries. To drive food
and beverage manufacturers to choose
domestic tart cherries for their products,
the program targets ingredient decision
makers at major food manufacturers.
Given the influx of imported tart cherries
in recent years, the program shows
the benefits of choosing domestic tart
cherries in new product applications via
targeted social media ads and working
with editors to secure news articles in
trade publications.
One of the key strengths of the
program is that the industry pools its
resources to build one cohesive program
focused on Montmorency research and
promotion. Leveraging funding from
the Cherry Marketing Institute, Cherry
Industry Administrative Board and
Michigan Specialty Block Grants allows the
industry exponentially more cutting-edge
research and demand-driving promotional
programming than any organization could
present " The Evolving Media Landscape. "
If you are a cherry grower or marketer,
please consider attending these
presentations not only to see the results
of our promotion programs and the plans
for this year, but to see what is being done
to combat imports.
To register for the CMI luncheon
please call 517-669-4264 or email
micherries@gmail.com by Jan. 7, 2020.
The lunch is free to all cherry growers
and marketers.
In closing this month, I want to bid a
fond farewell to Phil Korson. As many
of you know, Phil retired on Jan. 1, 2020
after serving 42 years in the cherry
industry. His leadership skills, loyalty
and determination are going to be greatly
missed by many.
Thank you, Phil, for all your dedication
and support over the years. I wish you the
best in all your future endeavors. FGN
CopenHaven Farms Nursery
Quality Oregon-Grown
Rootstock & Seedlings
For Fruit Trees.
Since 1982,
Specializing in
Virus-Free Apple,
Cherry, Plum and
Pear Rootstock.
email:
info@copenhavenfarms.com
12990 SW Copenhaven Road
Gaston, OR 97119
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www.copenhavenfarms.com
503-985-7161
FAX 503-985-7876
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January 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of January 2020
