Martin’s Family Fruit Farm, a seventh generation family business in Waterloo, Ont. that was once strictly a fresh fruit provider, is about to go head-to-head with chip brands on Ontario grocery store shelves with the launch of Martin’s Apple Chips.
The new consumer brand was challenged to get its product in the hands of its target market – mom’s and the health-conscious – said Pat Kelly, a partner at Vancouver-based BrandFX Advertising. Typically, consumers think of fruit leather when it comes to fruit snacks, but Martin’s new products “are so crunchy, they really go up against the potato chip,” said Kelly. “There is a huge market that is trying to find healthier snacking options.”
BrandFX devised a consumer sampling campaign that targeted 45,000 GoodLife Fitness customers. It also got the apple chips home to mom through 35,000 knapsacks given to kids at 500 Ontario daycare centres.
The campaign – “Truly crisp. Purely fun” – was also promoted through social media and a contest called “Snack it Forward” that holds weekly draws for a bushel of apple chips and Loblaws gift certificates.
“The intent was to drive them to our Facebook page, to educate them a bit about the product and pass it on,” said Kelly
The campaign was supported by point-of-sale materials.
