California Ag Network

Category: Consumer Health

  • Farmworkers at Risk for Obesity, High Blood Pressure

    Farmworkers are a crucial link in our food supply chain, a fact that came sharply into focus during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. To keep these essential workers healthy, there is a need for more data on farmworkers’ health. A new study published by University of California scientists looks beyond work-related health concerns such as heat and pesticide exposure to the general health of the people who help plant, nurture and harvest food in California.

    “The study findings confirm the high chronic-disease burden in a workforce that is considered essential but lacks adequate access to health care and safety net programs,” said Susana Matias, lead author and UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the UC Berkeley Department of Nutritional Sciences and Toxicology. “This is a concern because California needs a healthy farmworker workforce. These workers are key to putting food on our tables and should be protected and supported as any other California worker.”

    After reading the study, an advocate for women farmworkers said she sees opportunities to enhance farmworkers’ health by improving their working conditions by enacting policy governing work permits; childcare; pest management; unemployment benefits; access to healthy and affordable food; and safe, affordable housing.

    To see a broader perspective of farmworker health, Matias analyzed data from three studies by Marc Schenker, UC Davis physician and professor emeritus. Schenker’s studies examined farmworkers’ general health, occupational injuries and important causes of illness and disease. Causes or so-called “social determinants” of disease include low income, food insecurity, undocumented immigration status, and poor housing conditions.

    “Those social determinants are particularly negative and impact disease outcomes in the farmworker population,” Schenker said. “Too often farmworkers don’t have the benefits of other working populations, including adequate health care. It is hoped that recognition of this situation can lead to addressing these deficiencies and an improvement in farmworker health.”

    Irene de Barraicua, director of operations and communications for Lideres Campesinas, said the study relates to much of the work her organization does advocating for women farmworkers.

    “The article and studies emphasize findings that call for higher salaries, better working conditions, more worker rights and access to healthcare,” de Barraicua said. “From these findings, we can also gather that the health of farmworkers is impacted by various stress factors related to poverty, excruciating and unsafe work conditions, and lack of or costly childcare to name a few.”

    Matias found that female farmworkers were at higher risk of obesity and larger waist circumference, while male farmworkers were at higher risk of high blood pressure and high total cholesterol.

    “These differences in chronic health risks between farmworker men and women suggests that clinical and public health responses might need to be sex-specific,” said Matias, who is also co-associate faculty director at the Berkeley Food Institute.

    The studies were conducted with farmworkers in Mendota, Oxnard and Watsonville. Matias would like to expand the scope to assess the health of farmworkers statewide.

    “Our study is not representative of other regions of the state,” Matias said. “A representative survey is urgently needed in California to better identify and quantify the health problems in this population, and to provide the services needed by these essential workers.”

    “The article ‘The Chronic Disease Burden Among Latino Farmworkers in California’ clearly brings to the forefront very important sociodemographic and socioeconomic ‘gaps’ unique to farmworkers, an essential segment of our population and workforce,” said de Barraicua of Lideres Campesinas.

    “We need to enact policy that facilitates access to health care including mental health services; easily accessible, free rural and mobile clinics; telehealth services, essentially unrestricted healthcare coverage for all,” de Barraicua said, adding that trusted community health workers who know the farmworkers’ culture and speak their language are needed.

    She also noted the growing population of indigenous Mexican farmworkers and face greater challenges related to language access, limited education and immigration status.

    The article, co-authored by Matias, Schenker, UC Berkeley postdoctoral researcher Caitlin French and student Alexander Gomez-Lara, is published in Frontiers in Public Health.

    UC Agriculture and Natural Resources brings the power of UC to all 58 California counties. Through research and Cooperative Extension in agriculture, natural resources, nutrition, economic and youth development, our mission is to improve the lives of all Californians. Learn more at ucanr.edu and support our work at donate.ucanr.edu.

  • Real California Milk Begins Holiday Season With Mornings Mean More Campaign

    The California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB) announced today the return of its consumer promotion focused on holiday breakfast traditions with dairy. The annual campaign – titled Holiday Mornings Mean More – debuted in 2020 and focuses on the California market. Holiday Mornings Mean More communicates messages of family, togetherness, and the importance of celebrating time together over special breakfast recipes. The featured promotional menu provides a turn-key solution for busy shoppers, where any of the recipes can be scaled up or down to accommodate gathering sizes. The menu includes recipes designed to be enjoyed together such as a Greek Veggie and Feta Frittata, a Pancake and Waffle Party Board, Cheesy Hash Brown Egg Bites, and a Hot & Tasty Beverage Board.

    The promotion, which runs November 28 through December 25, will be geotargeted around 1,557 California stores including Smart & Final, Ralphs, Safeway and Walmart, among others. It will be supported with in-store media and shopper marketing activations. Integrated digital media will include banner ads and in-line recipe pairings throughout Chicory’s recipe network, a targeted email blast, Ibotta rebate offers, Instacart SEM, sponsored social media posts, targeted display banner ads, and food influencer partnerships across Instagram and TikTok.

    “Dairy is an essential part of breakfast. These holiday breakfast recipes were curated to showcase the best of California dairy while inspiring families to spend time together during the holidays creating new traditions in the kitchen,” said Katelyn Harmon, Director of Business Development, U.S. Retail for the CMAB. “High quality, sustainably produced Real California dairy products are perfect additions to make breakfast as a family that much more special.”

    California is the nation’s leading milk producer and makes more butter, ice cream and nonfat dry milk than any other state. California is the second largest producer of cheese and yogurt. California products can be identified by the Real California Milk seal, which certifies they are made with milk from the state’s dairy farm families using sustainable farming practices.

    About Real California Milk/California Milk Advisory Board

    The California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB), an instrumentality of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, is funded by the state’s dairy farm families who lead the nation in sustainable dairy farming practices. With a vision to nourish the world with the wholesome goodness of Real California Milk, the CMAB’s programs focus on increasing demand for California’s sustainable dairy products in the state, across the U.S. and around the world through advertising, public relations, research, and retail and foodservice promotional programs. For more information and to connect with the CMAB, visit RealCaliforniaMilk.com, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.

  • Iditarod Champion Shares Why Pistachios are His Protein of Choice

    Not only do pistachios contain all the essential amino acids that make up a complete protein, but they also have other nutritional benefits that help the body through extreme cold weather conditions. That is why pistachios are the trail food of choice for five-time Iditarod champion dog musher Dallas Seavey.  Watch this brief interview with one of American Pistachio Growers latest ambassadors as he explains and read more about it in the latest issue of Pacific Nut Producer Magazine.

    Please thank this video’s sponsor Suterra for their industry support.

  • Soil Health Academy Marks Five-Year Anniversary, Looks to Expand Future Efforts

    It started with a vision to share the hope in healthy soil. On August 22, 2017, the Soil Health Academy (SHA) kicked off its first, three-day, regenerative farming school at soil health pioneer Gabe Brown’s ranch near Bismarck, North Dakota.

    Today, the non-profit organization is celebrating its fifth year of operation while also announcing plans to expand its efforts to help farmers and ranchers successfully and profitably apply nature’s time-proven, regenerative agriculture principles and practices in their respective operations.

    Founded by Ray Archuleta, Gabe Brown, David Brandt and Allen Williams, SHA’s world-renowned instructors have conducted scores of three-day schools and specialty workshops across the country, teaching hundreds of farmers, ranchers and educators from around the globe the transformative power of soil health-improving regenerative agriculture.

    “Since its first school five years ago, SHA has been at the forefront of providing practical, on-farm education and support to producers so they can grow healthier soil, profits, food and futures,” said SHA President Dawn Brietkreutz. A U.S. Air Force veteran and regenerative farmer, Brietkreutz and her husband Grant operate Stoney Creek Farm near Redwood Falls, Minnesota, which has been the host site for numerous SHA schools and workshops throughout the past five years. She is also an original member of SHA’s board of directors.

    “Transitioning from chemical- and tillage-dependent conventional farming requires farmers and ranchers to possess a significantly higher level of understanding of soil health-improving regenerative farming principles,” Breitkreutz said. “Knowledge, observation, understanding and problem-solving skills are key to the successful application of regenerative agricultural systems—and SHA’s schools have a proven track record of helping producers achieve those objectives.”

    In its most recent poll, more than two-thirds of SHA graduates reported experiencing both positive soil resource and economic improvements while transitioning from conventional to regenerative agricultural practices. More than a third of its graduates reported reducing synthetic fertilizer and/or pesticide use by 30 percent or more.

    Brietkreutz said today’s “five-year regeneration celebration” also represents an important opportunity to scale up the transformative power of farming in nature’s image.

    “During the past five years, producer interest in regenerative agriculture has grown considerably, as has the community of generous individuals, corporations and NGOs who continue to partner with SHA to expand and accelerate our education and farmer-support operations,” Brietkreutz said. “In addition to developing new learning opportunities and expanding SHA school and scholarship programs, we’re also looking to reach consumers, educators and policy makers through additional outreach and educational platforms in the near- and mid-term,” she said. “So, in addition to helping ensure on-farm regenerative success, we want to help drive consumer awareness, interest and demand for regeneratively grown products, in the months and years ahead.”

    Even as the organization marks this historic milestone, co-founder Gabe Brown will be busy hosting another three-day, regenerative farming and ranching school during the week of SHA’s fifth anniversary. According to Brown, these practical, on-farm schools remain the most effective education delivery method to ensure regenerative producer success.

    “From the outset, we recognized that producer success was dependent on individuals understanding the six principles of soil health, the three rules of adaptive grazing and the four ecosystem processes,” Brown said. “Understanding how to apply that knowledge within the context of producers’ operations remains the foundation of SHA’s teaching and learning model.”

    According to Brown, the future of regenerative agriculture is bright, thanks to all those who represent and support the regenerative farming movement.

    “I’m proud of the incredible success of SHA and its graduates over the past five years,” Brown said. “The tireless dedication of SHA’s instructors, staff and board of directors has no doubt played a key role in that success. With continued support from donors and through the on-going hard work of our regenerative farming and ranching community, I know the best years of SHA lie ahead. And that’s great news for the future of our family farms, our food security, our health and our planet.”

  • Chinese Consumers View Pistachios as Healthy “Happy Nuts”

    Can an increasing Chinese appetite for U.S. grown pistachios help overcome trade barriers?  Possibly, but watch this brief interview with American Pistachio Growers’ in-country trade representative Roger Zhang as he shares pistachio consumer trends in China. Read more in Pacific Nut Producer Magazine.

    Please thank this video’s sponsor Suterra for their industry support.

  • Pistachios Evolve from a Garnish to a Popular Snack in India

    The Indian market is a relatively new one for U.S. pistachios, yet has tremendous potential as American Pistachio Growers continues to invest in it.  Watch this brief interview with American Pistachio Growers’ in-country trade representative Summit Saran as he explains. Read more in Pacific Nut Producer Magazine.

    Please thank this video’s sponsor Suterra for their industry support.

  • Chef Finalists For Inaugural Cal-Mex Real California Milk Foodservice Competition

    The California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB) today announced six chef finalists for the Cal-Mex Invitational, a new foodservice competition that celebrates the fusion of California and Mexican cuisines and spotlights recipes featuring California cheese and dairy products.

    The six finalists will compete in a head-to-head cook-off event at the Culinary Institute of America at Copia in Napa, California on August 3, 2022, for more than $22,000 in cash prizes and recognition as a Cal-Mex culinary pioneer. The event will be judged by an elite team of chefs and live-streamed so viewers can watch as chefs prepare Cal-Mex dishes in three categories: Appetizer, Entrée, and Dessert. The event will be hosted by award-winning author, speaker, and national food television personality Leslie Sbrocco.

    “The Cal-Mex category is growing and offers a tremendous opportunity to highlight California cheese and dairy. The addition of the Cal-Mex Invitational to our foodservice competition program recognizes the influence of chefs who are showcasing the fusion of California and Mexican flavors in their own unique way,” said Mike Gallagher, Business and Market Development Consultant for the CMAB. “We look forward to collaborating with this team of chefs and exploring how they interpret Cal-Mex.”

    The finalists for the 2022 Cal-Mex Invitational are:

    Appetizer

    • Chad Clevenger, Owner of pop-up restaurant El Nido Del Buho in Atlanta, Ga. and formerly at Alma Cocina in Atlanta as well as Mel’s Bar & Grill and Porker Street Food Cart in Denver, Colo.
    • Victoria Elizondo, Chef/Owner at Cochinita & Co. and Cochi’s Taqueria in Houston, Texas.

    Entrée

    • Claud Beltran, Chef/Co-Owner at Claud & Co. Bacchus Kitchen in Pasadena, Calif. and formerly of California-based food, catering and restaurant companies Evo Company, Beverly Hills Wine Merchant, Barbara West, and Dickenson West.
    • Mark Casale, Executive Chef at Dos Coyotes Border Café, Sacramento, Calif., incorporating the company’s 11 associated restaurants in Northern California.

    Dessert

    • Manny Barella, Executive Chef/Partner at Bellota in Denver, Colo. And formerly of Sea Island Resort in Ga., and Calistoga Ranch, Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen, and Solage Resort in California’s Napa Valley.
    • Marco Colin, Chef at La Luna in Chicago, Ill. And formerly of The Publican, Alinea and Soho House in Chicago.

    Cal-Mex Invitational finalists were selected from a group of professional chefs from across the U.S. A panel of expert judges scored the best two recipes in each category from each chef to select finalists to participate in the cook-off event in Napa.

    Three nationally known chefs will judge the cook-off event: Ben Diaz, Executive Chef of Leoness Cellars, Hugo Ortega, Executive Chef/Owner H Town Restaurant Group, and Claudette Zepeda, San Diego-based Chef and Culinary Entrepreneur.

    A native Angelino, Ben Diaz puts his passion into every dish at Leoness Cellars. Ben trained at the California School of Culinary Arts and the L’Académie Culinaire de France. He developed Tacos El Chapin, a popular pop-up taqueria, and is the Chief Culinary Officer at CBD Cuisine Consulting Services & Catering Division, which works with restaurants around the world. Ben previously served as top toque at some of Southern California’s best hotels and restaurants. He wrote the reference book, From a Cook to a Professional Chef, and has appeared on Food Network’s Chef Wanted and Cutthroat Kitchen, and The Cooking Channel’s Farmers Market Flip, where he won.

    Hugo Ortega, winner of 2017 James Beard Foundation Best Chef: Southwest, started as busboy at the Backstreet Café in Houston and following culinary school became its executive chef and co-owner with his wife Tracy Vaught. Hugo later became executive chef and opened Hugo’s, Caracol, Xochi, and URBE. He received the 2017 Craig Claiborne Lifetime Achievement Award from the Southern Foodways Alliance. In 2019, Vaught established the Chef Hugo Ortega Endowment at Houston Community College’s Culinary Arts Program to provide scholarships for culinary students. Hugo published two cookbooks: Hugo Ortega’s Street Food of Mexico and Backstreet Kitchen: Seasonal Recipes from Our Neighborhood Cafe.

    Claudette Zepeda oversees the creative vision at VAGA restaurant in San Diego’s North County. Previously, she gained national acclaim as the executive chef and partner at El Jardín, also in San Diego. Claudette won both Eater San Diego and the San Diego Union Tribune’s Chef of the Year in 2018 and was a James Beard Best Chef West semifinalist in 2019. She competed on Top Chef Season 15 and Top Chef Mexico and won Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend. In 2019 Claudette founded Viva La Vida, LLC., which starts micro businesses with single mothers in Mexico.

    Judges will evaluate dishes by criteria including the inventive use of Hispanic-style Real California cheeses and dairy products, taste, texture and presentation, and creativity. Based on scoring, each category winner will receive a trophy and $5,000 prize. Category runners-up each receive a certificate and $1,500. Non-finalists received $500 each.

    For additional details and updates about the inaugural Cal-Mex Invitational, competitors and competing dishes visit calmex.realcaliforniamilk.com.

    California is a reliable, consistent source of sustainable dairy products used by chefs throughout the world. As the nation’s largest dairy state, California boasts an impressive lineup of award-winning cheesemakers and dairy processors who are helping to drive dining innovation. California is the leading producer of fluid milk, butter and ice cream as well as Hispanic-style cheese and dairy products for Cal-Mex creations.

    About Real California Milk/the California Milk Advisory Board
    The California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB), an instrumentality of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, is funded by the state’s dairy farm families who lead the nation in sustainable dairy farming practices. With a vision to nourish the world with the wholesome goodness of Real California Milk, the CMAB’s programs focus on increasing demand for California’s sustainable dairy products in the state, across the U.S. and around the world through advertising, public relations, research, and retail and foodservice promotional programs.

    The Foodservice Division of the CMAB supports foodservice operators and distributors that use Real California dairy products. The CMAB offers marketing and promotional support for foodservice operators that purchase dairy products with the Real California Milk seal, which means they are made with 100 percent milk from California’s more than 1,100 family dairy farms, using some of the most sustainable dairy practices in the nation.

    For more information on sourcing cheese from California, contact the foodservice team at 209.883.6455 (MILK), businessdevelopment@cmab.net or RealCaliforniaMilk.com/Foodservice, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

  • Making Yogurt Even Healthier by Adding Chickpea Flour

    The importance of foods that are nutritious and healthy is on the minds of many Americans these days. Consumers demand food that is flavorful and tasty with health promoting properties. Yogurt, whether frozen, refrigerated, or blended into a smoothie, is one product that is getting an enormous amount of attention.

    What is yogurt exactly? Yogurt is a popular dairy product obtained by fermentation of milk that is heated and mixed with good bacteria, such as Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus, both beneficial for digestive health. These good bacteria help keep our gut healthy.

    ARS food technologist, Mukti Singh tests yogurt in the Peoria Lab (image by Scott Bauer)

    Over the years, the popularity of yogurt in the United States has been on the rise. From 2000 to 2020, yogurt consumption in the United States has more than doubled, from 6.5 pounds per person to 13.8 pounds per person. Annual production of yogurt also has increased, from 1.84 billion pounds in 2000 to 4.52 billion pounds in 2020.

    Yogurt is considered a nutrient powerhouse, so how do you make it even healthier? Well, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists have found a way – by adding chickpea flour.

    Food Technologist Mukti Singh at the ARS National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research in Peoria, IL, collaborated with the University of Central Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University on a study to evaluate the effects of adding fiber and protein-rich chickpea flour to low-fat yogurt. When adding the potentially beneficial chickpea flour to the mix, ARS scientists were determined to maintain its color, pH, and production time. The yogurt had to look good and taste good, in addition to being good for you.

    The results demonstrated that adding chickpea flour to the low-fat yogurt mix promoted the growth of beneficial bacteria that is associated with improved gut health and may help prevent colon cancer, while it decreased the production time. This study also aimed to evaluate the effects of chickpea flour added to yogurt mix to increase the prebiotics. The team found that fortification of yogurt with 1% and 2% chickpea flour provided a significant improvement in the viscosity of stored yogurt. The results suggest that the addition of chickpea flour up to the 2% level can be an option to enhance the fiber and protein level of yogurt without adverse effects on product qualities and sensorial properties.

    Yogurt fortified with Chickpea chickpea flour (lt) made from chickpeas (rt). Image by Mukti Singh

    Chickpeas contain prebiotics that promote the growth of beneficial organisms in our intestines besides being high in protein and fiber, said Mukti Singh. According to the USDA FoodData Central nutrient database, raw chickpea contains 20.5% protein, 6.0% fat, 12.2% total dietary fiber, 10.7% sugars, and 57 mg calcium per 100 g. Because chickpeas contain many minerals, including calcium, magnesium, and potassium, they are considered heart healthy because they may help prevent high blood pressure, which is a major risk factor for heart disease. Plain low-fat yogurt has 5.3% protein, 0% fiber, and 183 mg calcium per 100 g.

    Considering these values, an additional 1-5% chickpea flour to plain low-fat yogurt may result in an increase in fiber and protein content compared to yogurt without added chickpea flour, but without significantly affecting its appearance, aroma, texture, taste, and overall acceptability. And if you’re going to dive your spoon into a cup of yogurt, why not make it as protein, fiber and mineral packed as possible?

    “Yogurt is known to be nutritious and beneficial for gut health, chickpea flour enhances the benefits by the addition of prebiotics and protein content,” Singh said. – By Monica Williams, USD-ARS Office of Communications

  • National Pizza Contest Finals for Innovative Recipes Showcasing Real California Cheese

    The California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB) announced the 12 finalists for the 2022 Real California Pizza Contest (RCPC) – the fourth nationwide search for the best foodservice pizza recipes that include the most innovative uses of Real California cow’s milk cheeses. The professional chef finalists will compete in three categories during a public bake-off event in Napa, Calif. June 22, 2022 for awards totaling $30,000.

    Winners will be selected by a panel of expert judges including Tony Gemignani, chef, restauranter, international pizza authority and President of the World Pizza Champions; Glenn Cybulski, certified pizzaiolo and award-winning executive chef; and Spencer Glenn, executive chef at Pizza My Heart and 2021 RCPC Grand Prize Winner. The judges chose the 12 finalists from more than 100 blind-judged entries from throughout the United States, in the Cal-Mex, REAL Californian, and Plant-Forward recipe categories.

    “After four years, we continue to be inspired by the innovative use of our California cheeses in pizza contest entries. For such an established foodservice category, chefs haven’t run out of ideas and that’s what brings us back year after year,” said Mike Gallagher, Business and Market Development Consultant for the CMAB. “As the leading producer of mozzarella cheese and second largest cheese producer in the U.S., pizza remains an important category for our foodservice business. Connecting with and celebrating these chefs and their creations helps us build awareness for the tremendous products we have available.”

    The live bake-off finals event takes place at the Culinary Institute of America Copia facility in Napa, where pizzas will be prepared and baked onsite for a blind evaluation by judges. Category winners will each receive $5,000. The Grand Prize Winner, selected from the three category winners, will win an additional $10,000. Remaining finalists will receive $500 each.

    The 2022 finalists, listed alongside hometown and pizza entry name, are:

    Cal-Mex

    • Ryan Ososky, Los Angeles, Calif., Oaxacan in the Motorcity
    • Christopher Lascik, Yelm, Wash., El Puerco Verde
    • Austin Buckland, Marion, Ohio, La Fiesta
    • Marcus Medina, Tracy, Calif., Cali Craft Chicken Enchilazza

    The REAL Californian

    • Ray Cullison, Kingman, Ariz., California Dreamin’
    • Chris Decker, Las Vegas, Nev., For the Love of California
    • Jason Garland, Waverly, Minn., The Venice Beach
    • David Jacobson, Concord, Calif., The Gold Rush

    Plant-Forward

    • Leah Scurto, Windsor, Calif., Spear-It of Spring
    • Max Cufre, San Diego, Calif., Honey, I’m Home!
    • Yoshiharu Sogi, Sonoma, Calif., Sweet Blue
    • Melina Felix, Littleton, Colo., Green N’ Zesty

    RCPC bake-off finals will be streamed on Facebook Live on June 22 at 3 p.m. PST atfacebook.com/realcamilkfoodservice. Additional details on the bake-off, pizza chef finalists and CMAB’s foodservice support are available at Real California Pizza Contest.

    California is a reliable, consistent source of sustainable dairy products used by chefs throughout the world. As the nation’s largest dairy state, California boasts an impressive lineup of award-winning cheesemakers and dairy processors, that are helping to drive dining innovation.

    About Real California Milk/the California Milk Advisory Board

    The California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB), an instrumentality of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, is funded by the state’s dairy farm families who lead the nation in sustainable dairy farming practices. With a vision to nourish the world with the wholesome goodness of Real California Milk, the CMAB’s programs focus on increasing demand for California’s sustainable dairy products in the state, across the U.S. and around the world through advertising, public relations, research, and retail and foodservice promotional programs.

    The Foodservice Division of the CMAB supports foodservice operators and distributors that use Real California dairy products. The CMAB offers marketing and promotional support for foodservice operators that purchase dairy products with the Real California Milk seal, which means they are made with 100 percent milk from California’s more than 1,100 family dairy farms, using some of the most sustainable dairy practices in the nation.

    For more information on sourcing cheese from California, contact the foodservice team at 209.883.6455 (MILK),businessdevelopment@cmab.net or RealCaliforniaMilk.com/Foodservice, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

  • Heart-Friendly Focus Fuels Almonds in Mexico

    Almond Board of California — Almond exports from the U.S. to Mexico increased 25% in 2021, reflecting a growing appetite for the nuts by health-conscious consumers in that market. 

    Wellness is top of mind for many Mexicans, who increasingly have gravitated to almonds for several health benefits. Almonds contain magnesium to support a healthy immune system, vitamin E to support skin care (vitamin E may help protect cells from the damaging effects of free radicals, caused by pollution, UV rays from the sun, cigarette smoke and other environmental and intrinsic factors) and good fats (to support heart health). One serving of almonds (28g) has 13g of unsaturated fat (healthy fat) and only 1g of saturated fat.

    Since 2018, the Almond Board of California has conducted consumer advertising and public relations in Mexico under the “Ponte Almendra” campaign. Ponte Almendra is a play on words in Spanish, adapted from the colloquial “ponte las pilas,” a popular idiom to tell people to work harder or make a bigger effort – essentially to get going. The message in Ponte Almendra is that a handful of almonds contains the natural energy-giving protein to help active people get through their busy days.

    Clearly, the marketing efforts are paying off. Last year, almond shipments to Mexico increased to 30 million pounds, making Mexico one of the up-and-coming countries ABC staff are most excited about.

    “The Almond Board is enthusiastic about the emerging growth of this market,” said Becky Jeffers, ABC’s manager of North American marketing. “Consumers are looking for healthy snacks as their lifestyles have changed and diseases of affluence such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease are increasing.”

    Marketing efforts have leveraged the popularity and credibility of Mexican TV stars and trusted medical experts. ABC also has partnered with the Mexican Heart Foundation to underscore the value of almonds in a heart-healthy diet.

    A consumer survey funded by the Almond Board showed that 68% of Mexican consumers were motivated to eat almonds if they understood that almonds as part of a heart-healthy diet could potentially help with improving cholesterol levels.

    In 2021, the Ponte Almendra campaign featured TV ads that aired during major sporting events, such as the broadcast of the Super Bowl in Mexico and national soccer championships, and award shows such as the Grammy’s in Mexico. One TikTok video posted on Feb. 16, 2021 (designated as Almond Day in Mexico) garnered an impressive 2 million organic (un-sponsored) views in one day.

    ABC’s research revealed that consumers ranked almonds high in overall preference and said it is the nut they’ve seen the most positive stories about.

    “There is more opportunity to drive consumer awareness and perception of almonds’ specific heart health benefits. In fact, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, scientific evidence suggests, but does not prove, that eating 1.5 ounces of nuts as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol may reduce the risk of heart disease,” Jeffers said. “The survey showed 82% of Mexican consumers rate knowing that almonds are good for your heart would make them more likely to eat almonds. However, only 33% of respondents said that almonds are the best nut for their heart, showing the opportunity to amplify the nutrition research on heart health that is motivating to consumers.”

    The Almond Board has already shifted the communications to focus on heart health while keeping Ponte Almendra as the overarching campaign slogan. For example, for World Heart Month in September 2021, ABC partnered with credible doctors for TV media interviews and social media posts – including a 30-minute interview between a health coach and a doctor on Instagram Live. The heart health efforts will continue throughout 2022.