Getting kids to eat vegetables has to be one of the hardest marketing challenges out there. A few years ago, I was on a brand team that racked our brains on parlor tricks to dupe kids into eating their greens -- slathering broccoli in "cheese-flavored sauce" (the "Trojan Horse" approach), coloring broccoli bright purple (hey, it worked for ketchup), and on and on. Now that I actually have kids, I know even better how tough these littlest consumers can be (and how resistant I am as a parent to the parlor tricks).
UK-based Abel & Cole nailed this age-old marketing challege with the simplest approach of all. They deliver a box of local organic fruit & veg every week to our flat, which becomes an event the moment my kids see the bright yellow delivery van. You never know what is in the mystery box any particular week (although they sure seem to have a lot of potatoes in this part of the world), and emptying the box has become a weekly tradition (pak choi, broad beans, green battavia lettuce). My oldest daughter literally had a pretend conversation with the eggplant that arrived this week, welcoming it to our home. This excitement continues right to the plate. No "cheese-flavored sauce" required. Yum.
Great story. It's a reminder of the Christmas morning when your 1 year old is less impressed by the toy than the box it came in!
Posted by: Steve Willson | July 17, 2007 at 04:56 PM