November/December 2022 - 25

WWW.CANCENTRAL .COM CANNED GOOD COALITION
New coalition successfully leans into the
sustainability benefits of steel cans
PROGRAM SHOWS THE ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS OF PURCHASING
PRODUCTS PACKAGED IN STEEL FOOD CANS
Canned produce
provides a nutritious,
tasty, affordable and
accessible opportunity
for consumers to
whom this is a very
i mpo r t a n t
food
By Sherrie
Rosenblatt
Managing Director
Canned Good
Coalition
group. Earlier this
year, a partnership of
canned food companies
and steel food can
manufacturers unveiled
an opportunity to build
consumer preference for canned foods by
leaning into the sustainability benefits of
the metal package.
Two emerging opportunities presented
themselves for the formation of the
Canned Good Coalition to build a
program around the steel food can's
sustainability attributes: 1) consumers
are becoming more motivated to buy
sustainable products, and 2) the onset
of COVID-19 triggered a surge in canned
foods sales.
Appropriately named Canned Good,
this consumer marketing program
bui lds on the insight
that many
consumers inherently want to do what
is good for their family, the community
and the planet. Therefore,
leaning
into the sustainability attributes of
the steel food can, the Canned Good
consumer marketing program shows the
environmental benefits of purchasing
products packaged in steel food cans.
The Canned Good campaign focuses on
three powerful sustainability messages:
Steel food cans are 1) recyclable (at 58%,
have the highest recycling rate of any food
package); 2) are made from recyclable
material (from up to 35% recycled
steel); and 3) promote less waste. The
Canned Good program substantiated that
these messages are what resonates with
consumers, since consumer research found
that more than 96% of the target consumer
can be reached with a combination of
these messages.
Canned Good is touting the steel
food can's sustainability benefits in
order to increase category preference
for canned foods while also capturing
retailer and additional canned food
company interest for future campaign
involvement. In the program's initial
campaign in 2022, the coalition worked
with five mid-size retailers to pilot an
activation that would inspire, educate
and inform savvy grocery shoppers. The
program connected consumers to the
center of the store and bolstered retailers'
corporate sustainability goals through
the campaign's messaging. The target
consumer experienced the campaign
through paid, earned and owned media
along with retail-specific online and
instore promotions.
T he
Ca n ned
Good we b s i t e
(CannedGood.org) serves as a hub that
includes a " Spokescan " that humorously
provides interesting and surprising
information about the steel food can's
sustainability attributes. It also provides
recycling tips, explores the circular
recycling journey, answers frequently
asked questions and has a calculator to
show visitors the environmental benefits
of recycling steel food cans.
The first two retail activations resulted
in increased sales for the canned food
compan ie s
par t ic ipat i ng
in the program, as well as
consumer understanding of
the sustainability attributes
of canned foods leading to
the potential for increased
purchasing. The canned food
companies that participated
in one of the retail activations
experienced on average a
37% increase in units sold
during the two two-week event,
versus the same two weeks
in 2021. The other retailer reported a
13.8% sales lift in-store and a 41.2%
lift online for canned food companies
that participated in the campaign. Upon
completion of the activation, consumer
research found that favorability for the
can at each of the two retailers increased
16% and 11%, respectively.
One retai ler even stated that
" participation with this canned food
category activity that leaned into the
sustainability benefits of steel food cans
brought 13% more new canned food
consumers to the category. A normal
activation would only see a 1% increase,
which shows that this is a perfect program
to grow the canned food category. "
By enlightening savvy, primary
shoppers about how metal cans align
with their values and enable them to
live the type of life that they would
like, the coalition is creating an optimal
way to build long-term preferences for
canned foods. The second year of the
consumer marketing program will include
continued engagement in the same Year
1, as well as new markets targeting the
same consumers through interactions
to increase affinity for steel food cans.
To find out more information about
the Canned Good Coalition, contact the
coalition's Managing Director, Sherrie
Rosenblatt, at srosenblatt@cancentral.
com.
PRODUCE PROCESS ING
25
http://www.CannedGood.org
November/December 2022

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