California Ag Network

Category: Consumer Health

  • Driving Walnut Consumption Through Snacking

    California Walnut Board – Over 95% of Americans snack at some point throughout the day. When we saw snacking move into first place for the top usage for walnuts in our Attitude & Usage (A&U) study, we knew the time was right to capitalize on this trend. In May, we kicked off a campaign designed to showcase California walnuts as the ideal snack food.

    The campaign inspires consumers to snack better by focusing on the simplicity of snacking on a handful of walnuts. We aim to create further excitement around the campaign by engaging consumers and reminding them of the unique flavor profile walnuts offer for both sweet and savory snacking options by having them pick their snacking preference, Team Sweet or Team Savory.

    In May, we also began our partnership with former Bachelorette, Ali Manno, to create content that highlights the versatility of walnuts as a snack. Ali shared her favorite sweet and savory walnut recipes in a blog post and on social media. Audience reception of Ali’s posts was overwhelmingly positive, and the inclusion of her daughter in the content amplified her relatability. Many commenters expressed intent to make her walnut spreads and contributed to the #WalnutsSweetOrSavory conversation by sharing their snacking preferences. Coverage of Ali’s snacking story was recently posted on Women’s Health and was syndicated through both Yahoo! and MSN.

    In order to give our snacking campaign a timely hook to help break through the COVID-19-dominated media landscape, we conducted a nationally representative survey to learn more about how Americans’ snacking habits had changed during shelter-in-place restrictions, so we could better understand how walnuts fit in. The survey, conducted in partnership with Kelton Global, revealed that Americans are snacking now more than ever, with 49% snacking more now than before the pandemic began.

    At the same time, many snackers are turning to indulgent snacks as a source of comfort, with 31% saying their new habits have led to recent weight gain. We leveraged these results in our outreach, with walnuts being the perfect snack ingredient that can pair with nearly any flavor, highlighting California Walnuts’ research that has shown walnuts may play an important role in maintaining a healthy weight. We also shipped mailers full of new and innovative walnut-packed snack products to media and health practitioner contacts.

    To capitalize on the increased use of digital media during this time, the campaign continues to be supported with snacking-themed digital ads and social media posts driving consumers to walnuts.org to engage with the campaign landing page, recipes, and blog content. The effort was further amplified via content marketing placements with print and digital partners, such as the Kitchn article “Berry Walnut Trail Mix Is the Afternoon Snack You’ve Been Waiting For” and Men’s Health “Make Walnut Energy Balls for a Snack”. Articles like “Summer Snack Hacks to Make the Long Days Simpler” on our blog rounded out the plan. Social media ads and polls encouraged consumers to join the conversation, resulting in high engagement levels.

    Editorial content from the blog and promotional landing pages have pulled visitors into the site with 70K+ clicks through the end of June, and more than 45K+ Recipe/Collection views.

    With consumers shopping for groceries online at record levels, California Walnuts launched an ecommerce digital advertising program on Kroger, Amazon, Instacart, Albertsons, Safeway and Ahold for the months of July and August. Additionally, traditional retail promotions will bring the campaign to life in September with snacking-themed promotions at Publix, Kroger, and Harris Teeter. Display shippers at 3,000 locations will encourage customers to “Grab a Handful of Nutrition” with California Walnuts.

    Looking ahead, we plan to continue building upon our campaign’s momentum by discovering new ways to reach consumers and share the many reasons California walnuts are not only the ideal snack food, but also the perfect ingredient for sweet and savory snack creations.

  • APG Progress on Marketing Pistachios in China (American Pistachio Growers Summer Series 7/7)

    As gathering has not been possible due COVID-19 restrictions, American Pistachio Growers (APG) launched a video series with Pacific Nut Producer in lieu of their summer grower luncheon. Watch this final video of the series featuring APG China in-Country Representative Roger Zhang as he shares opportunities and the progress of APG marketing in India. Please enjoy the full seven part video series and read Pacific Nut Producer Magazine to get a full picture of what is going on in the American pistachio industry.

  • US Pistachio’s Place in the European Consumer Market (American Pistachio Growers Summer Series 6/7)

    As gathering has not been possible due COVID-19 restrictions, American Pistachio Growers (APG) launched a video series with Pacific Nut Producer in lieu of their summer grower luncheon. Watch Part Six of the series featuring APG European Union in-Country Representative George Smith as he reassures US pistachio’s strong place in European consumer diets, despite COVID-19 disruptions. Please enjoy the full seven part video series and read Pacific Nut Producer Magazine to get a full picture of what is going on in the American pistachio industry.

  • APG Progress on Marketing Pistachios in India (American Pistachio Growers Summer Series 5/7)

    As gathering has not been possible due COVID-19 restrictions, American Pistachio Growers (APG) launched a video series with Pacific Nut Producer in lieu of their summer grower luncheon. Watch Part Five of the series featuring APG India in-Country Representative Sumit Saran as he shares opportunities and the progress of APG marketing in India. Please enjoy the full seven part video series and read Pacific Nut Producer Magazine to get a full picture of what is going on in the American pistachio industry.

  • APG Media Outreach Wins on Pistachio Health Benefits (American Pistachio Growers Summer Series 4/7)

    As gathering has not been possible due COVID-19 restrictions, American Pistachio Growers (APG) launched a video series with Pacific Nut Producer in lieu of their summer grower luncheon. Watch Part Four of the series featuring APG Global Ambassador Dr. Mike Roussell as he shares recent media wins showcasing the health benefits of pistachios. Please enjoy the full seven part video series and read Pacific Nut Producer Magazine to get a full picture of what is going on in the American pistachio industry.

  • APG Meeting Evolving Consumer Needs (American Pistachio Growers Summer Series 3/7)

    As gathering has not been possible due COVID-19 restrictions, American Pistachio Growers (APG) launched a video series with Pacific Nut Producer in lieu of their summer grower luncheon. Watch Part III of the series featuring APG Vice President of Global Marketing Judy Hirigoyen as she explains how they have shared APG’s message with consumers worldwide over the past six months. Please enjoy the full seven part video series and read Pacific Nut Producer Magazine to get a full picture of what is going on in the American pistachio industry.

  • Chairman Brian Watte Shares Value of APG Membership (American Pistachio Growers Summer Series 2/7)

    As gathering has not been possible due COVID-19 restrictions, American Pistachio Growers (APG) launched a video series with Pacific Nut Producer in lieu of their summer grower luncheon. Watch Part II of the series featuring APG Chairman Brian Watte as he shares the value of membership in the association. Please enjoy the full seven part video series and read Pacific Nut Producer Magazine to get a full picture of what is going on in the American pistachio industry.

  • Updated US Pistachio Crop Forecast, Prices & Shipments (American Pistachio Growers Summer Series 1/7)

    As gathering has not been possible due COVID-19 restrictions, American Pistachio Growers (APG) launched a video series with Pacific Nut Producer in lieu of their summer grower luncheon. Beginning with APG Executive Director Richard Matoian’s pistachio crop and market update, please enjoy this seven part video series and read Pacific Nut Producer Magazine to get a full picture of what is going on in the American pistachio industry.

  • Farmworker Pandemic Safety Campaign Launched

    The California Farmworker Foundation has launched a new campaign, La Seguridad Empieza con Usted, which translates to Safety Starts with You, to help the farmworker community stay safe through the pandemic by providing encouragement for best practices and information on additional resources. The campaign will reach farmworkers in the greater Bakersfield and Fresno growing regions.

    Advertisements on Spanish-language radio will encourage farmworkers to visit the foundation Facebook page for ways to stay safe during the pandemic. On the foundation Facebook page are messages that encourage safe practices during a pandemic, dispel myths about the pandemic, and provide tips for increased safety measures in daily life. These messages will continue throughout the campaign.

    “The health of farmworkers and their families is just as essential as their work to keep the world fed,” said Hernan Hernandez, California Farmworker Foundation executive director. “Farming operations have adopted safety procedures to keep workers safe on the job. This campaign provides our communities with more Spanish-language information and resources about the pandemic, including the dispelling of COVID-19 myths, to better educate everyone on the need to make safe choices in their personal lives.”

    This campaign is an expansion of work that the foundation has already been doing to keep the community safe during the pandemic, including distributing PPE, combatting food insecurity, and providing virtual medical consultations. The foundation has a free hotline for farmworkers to call seeking additional information on ways to stay safe during the pandemic. The number is 661-446-4077.

    The farmworker safety campaign is supported by the California Fresh Fruit Association and California Table Grape Commission.

  • Freeze-Dried Strawberries & Ice Cream Make for a Very Stable Relationship

    ARS researchers have shown some freeze-dried berry powders—especially freeze-dried strawberry powder—can act as outstanding stabilizers in ice cream and other frozen dairy desserts.

    Freeze-dried strawberry powder is so effective a stabilizer that frozen dairy desserts with it included will maintain their shape even after reaching room temperature, according to Agricultural Research Service (ARS) research food technologist Cristina Bilbao-Sainz with the Healthy Processed Foods Research Unit in Albany, California.

    To be technically classified as ice cream, it must contain between 10 percent and 16 percent milkfat; everything else is called a frozen dairy dessert.

    Physical scientist Craig Carriere enjoys fat-free soft-serve ice cream produced with Fantesk (Photo by Keith Weller).

    Without a stabilizer, ice cream—home-made or commercial—can become unpleasantly crunchy with the growth of large ice crystals. It can happen in either or both the ice cream maker or the freezer, when temperatures change. Stabilizers also slow down melting, prevent wheying off (the leaking of a clear watery serum), help avoid shrinking during storage and increase your mouth’s perception of creaminess.

    Standard stabilizers such as sodium alginate, guar gum, iota carrageenan, xanthan gum and carboxymethyl cellulose are commonplace. But people tend to react negatively to these unfamiliar, chemical sounding names when they appear on an ice cream label, assuming these must be artificial ingredients.

    Actually, many do come from natural sources. For example, sodium alginate is extracted from brown seaweed.

    Bilbao-Sainz became intrigued with the idea of freeze-dried fruit powders as ice cream stabilizers when an all-natural dessert maker came looking for scientific facts about them. The possibilities of freeze-dried fruit powder have been previously known but not technically quantified.

    “We discovered that some of the freeze-dried fruit powders—especially strawberries—completely prevent the melt-down of dairy frozen desserts similar to ice cream made with whole milk, whole whipping cream, sugar and skim milk powder,” Bilbao-Sainz said. “Freeze-dried berry powder will absorb moisture from the premix base, improving its stability and texture to the point where the frozen dessert will keep its shape even after “melting” to room temperature.”

    This is probably due to the fiber in the berry powder becoming completely hydrated, which contributes to an increase in viscosity and resistance to melt-down, she explained.

    In Bilbao-Sainz’s testing, adding 3.5 percent of either strawberry, raspberry or blackberry freeze‐dried powder reduced the water available for ice crystal formation during stirring and freezing, preventing crystal growth and slowing melting. That translates to adding about 0.7 ounces for a 1-quart home ice cream maker.

    Strawberry powder was the best stabilizer, completely preventing melt‐down, followed closely by raspberry. While blackberry powder prevented the frozen dessert from wheying off the foam structure still collapsed so it lost its original shape.

    Blueberry powder, on the other hand, did not prevent melt-down or ice crystal formation during refreezing, and the frozen dessert showed a little wheying off.

    Of course, using freeze-dried strawberry powder as a stabilizer in frozen dairy desserts such as ice creams also means accounting for the added strawberry flavoring—a plus if you are making strawberry balsamic vinegar ice cream, more difficult in a brown butter bourbon ice cream recipe. — By Kim Kaplan, USDA-ARS

    This research was published in the Journal of Food Processing and Preservation. The Agricultural Research Service is the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s chief scientific in-house research agency. Daily, ARS focuses on solutions to agricultural problems affecting America. Each dollar invested in agricultural research results in $20 of economic impact.