Dairy Farmers of Ontario is starting to build its own consumer marketing department, now that it’s retaining marketing funds collected from farmers and no longer sending tens of millions of dollars to Dairy Farmers of Canada. What does it mean? Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s withdrawal from national marketing of milk has meant upheaval at Dairy […] Read more
Ontario’s dairy farmers ramp up own marketing
Talk to family, friends about farming
This holiday season Melodie Chan wants producers to avoid what she calls the “spiral of silence,” which can happen around the dinner table, over beers or even in the gentle lull between turkey and pie if farmers don’t speak up when they hear misinformation about agriculture. “What are we afraid of?” asked Chan, speaking at […] Read more
The ‘eyes’ have it — the key to better sales, that is
High-tech eye tracking technology literally gives insights into the buying decisions of consumers
Reading Time: 3 minutes Want to get more customers in the door? Get rid of potholes in the parking lot and put an inverted V-shaped canopy over the entrance. Want to boost sales? Put fewer items on the shelf and lower the height of display benches. That was some of the advice offered to Alberta garden centre owners by […] Read more
Greig: Food fraud a challenge to whole food supply chain
Farmers are used to the conversation about how to manage trust with consumers. Food companies are learning it too, and finding food fraud to be a significant concern. Food fraud “comes back to trust,” according to Renata McGuire of NSF Consulting and Technical Services. “Do I trust this brand?” McGuire, along with Sylvain Charlebois, dean […] Read more
China seen set to become world’s second-biggest wine market
Paris | Reuters — China is set to overtake Britain and France to become the world’s second-largest wine consumer by value behind the U.S. by 2020 as consumers turn to more middle-range wines, the International Wine and Spirit Research (IWSR) organization said Thursday. In a study for wine fair Vinexpo it forecast Chinese wine consumption […] Read more
Canada has changed — and the beef industry must, too, says marketer
Newcomers don’t celebrate over roast beef dinners, millennials want cheap and convenient, and boomers are big on healthy eating
Reading Time: 2 minutes If you want to sell beef, you’re going to have to learn about the new Canada, says a digital marketing expert. “They’re not the same people as before — these are not your grandpa’s target markets, by any stretch,” Doug Lacombe, president of Calgary-based Communicatto, said at the recent Alberta Beef Industry Conference. “Most of […] Read more
Accentuate the positive — consumers want a happy beef story
Canada Beef research finds consumers already in love with the product, the lifestyle, and the brand
Reading Time: 2 minutes Talk about Canadian beef in a positive way, and consumers will buy and eat more beef. That was a key finding of in-depth research by Canada Beef — and something that surprised marketing officials who figured today’s consumers are fixated on topics such as antibiotics and animal welfare. “Consumers wanted to hear about producers; they […] Read more
Market to the people who already love your beef, says expert
Beef hedonists, ranching romantics, and true patriots are the biggest fans of Canadian beef
Reading Time: 2 minutes Why would you try pursuing someone who doesn’t like you? That’s the key to romance — and to marketing beef. “As an industry, we have been starting with the logic perspective for a very long time,” James Bradbury, Canada Beef’s brand officer, said at the Alberta Beef Industry Conference. “We need to start coming across […] Read more
Millennials — how to cater to the new majority
The age cohort now in their late teens to early 30s will be the majority by 2050
Reading Time: 2 minutes When it comes to targeting millennials, emphasize sustainability and ethical business practices, as well as convenience and flavour variety. In 2015, there were 9.5 million Canadians between the ages of 15 and 34 years old. “As a group, they’re more ethnically diverse and well educated than any previous generation,” said Ava Duering, a competitiveness analyst […] Read more
Get ready for super-efficient cattle — and a better relationship with consumers
Top researcher says big data and genomics are game changers, but winning the trust of consumers is equally key
Reading Time: 3 minutes In the ever-changing landscape of Canadian agriculture, efficiency is the new watchword. “If we can increase efficiency of production by about five per cent in Alberta, we can save producers about $100 million a year — even if only one-third of livestock producers adopt those efficient improvements,” said Erasmus Okine, vice-president of research at the […] Read more
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