A few months ago, I wrote about a small brand that was able to expand its retail footprint from 130 stores to 7,500 within two years by utilizing Tik Tok. While not every product featured on the social media platform finds that same level of success, every food brands, no matter its size, should be utilizing some sort of marketing strategy involving it if they aren’t already. Plus, if there are marketing dollars to play with, those companies shouldn’t just be doing the free video shorts that the app is known for; they should also supplement this content with paid advertising. According to the “US TikTok Advertising 2022” report released by the digital market research firm Insider Intelligence, in the U.S. alone Tik Tok’s ad revenues in 2022 are expected to rise by 184.4 percent to $5.96 billion and its U.S. ad business is projected to be larger than YouTube’s by 2024. Considering that YouTube had a 10-year head start, that’s a lot of growth for TikTok in a very short span of time. And, for the time being it is less saturated than the more established social media platforms (with the average brand on TikTok posting just 1.8 videos per week compared to 4.6 posts per week on Instagram and 5.0 tweets per week on Twitter) and more cost effective than Facebook and Instagram when comparing the cost per thousand (CPM) for a median brand that advertisers on all three. In an excerpt from the report preview, it says, “TikTok is no longer an experimental play—it’s a must-buy for an increasing number of advertisers. But advertising on TikTok isn’t the same as on Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube. To excel on TikTok, advertisers must use paid media strategically to support and build on creator-led, user-generated, and owned content.” Of course, if you’re going to spend the advertising dollars, not just any old piece of content will do – just like in any sort of marketing, understanding the core target audience is key, so avoid throwing everything at the wall until something sticks. Instead, take time to initially niche down by identifying a narrow demographic and pinpoint what resonates with them and once that is mastered, then expand the scope. That being said, don’t be afraid to be afraid and experiment with what you put out. Part of the reasons people and products go viral on it is because they put up content that is outside of the box. And don’t think it’s too late for you or your brand to make its mark – because although the Tik Tok wave (and the marketing opportunities that come along with it) is growing rapidly, it’s still nowhere near its peak. So get on board now and enjoy the ride!
Another industry that is hitting its stride is organic food. The popular grocery retail segment is booming and with that demand expected to increase exponentially over the next few years, more and more farmers are turning their eyes towards converting their farms over to meet the need. However, that is easier said than done. Before crops can be certified organic, farmers must carefully manage their land without using prohibited inputs like synthetic pesticides for 36 months and during this transition period and the first years after certification, farmers often face many technical and market challenges. To help assist farmers through this difficult stage, the USDA announced a $300 million multi-agency USDA effort to support this transition and build and strengthen organic markets. Dubbed the Organic Transition Initiative, it will provide comprehensive support for farmers transitioning to organic production in three main ways: delivering wrap-around technical assistance, including farmer-to-farmer mentoring; providing direct support through conservation financial assistance and additional crop insurance assistance; and supporting market development projects in targeted markets. The USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), Risk Management Agency (RMA) and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will be the primary agencies supporting the initiative. AMS will build partnership networks in six regions across the United States with trusted organizations serving direct farmer training, education, and outreach activities. It will also focus on key organic markets where the need for domestic supply is high, or where additional processing and distribution capacity is needed for more robust organic supply chains. NRCS will develop a new Organic Management conservation practice standard and offer financial and technical assistance to producers who implement the practice. RMA will manage the new Transitional and Organic Grower Assistance Program (TOGA) which will support transitioning and certain certified organic producers’ participation in crop insurance, including coverage of a portion of their insurance premium.
“Farmers face challenging technical, cultural, and market shifts while transitioning to organic production, and even during the first years after successful organic certification,” said U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. “Through this multi-phased, multi-agency initiative, we are expanding USDA’s support of organic farmers to help them with every step of their transition as they work to become certified and secure markets for their products.”
Also showing support to the local farming system is Harris Teeter, which raised funds at all store locations in May and June for agriculture scholarships. The Matthews, NC-based retailer partnered with produce supplier Virginia Produce Company to raise $18,000 for scholarship and grant funds for Future Farmers of America (FFA) students in Virginia through its Growing America’s Farmers (GAF) promotional program. The GAF program was designed so a portion of the sales of designated products – in this case, sweet corn – is donated to the National FFA Foundation. In turn, the National FFA Foundation designates those funds to state FFA programs of the retailer’s choice to support students pursuing careers in production agriculture. This is the sixth year that Harris Teeter has supported the program, raising nearly $40,000 for agricultural students in Virginia and North Carolina to-date.
“Our team at Harris Teeter is proud to support local growers such as G&R Farms [another partner in a past fundraiser] and Virginia Produce Company to help further our mutual mission of advancing produce consumption, agriculture development and the success of future generations of leaders. Harris Teeter is pleased to assist in providing access to our stores to enable and develop our FFA students into successful young adults, and to partner to provide resources to encourage the future generation of leaders to study agriculture locally” stated Karin Humanik, director of produce for Harris Teeter.
Another grocery industry player that is doing its part to further education is Frito-Lay which recently announced that it has partnered up with the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) to help enable Black and Hispanic students across 10 U.S. cities to attend college. The major snack company, which is a subsidiary of PepsiCo, is investing $500,000 in a needs-based program that will provide a one-time scholarship of up to $5,000 to 10 students in each of the following cities: Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Orlando Phoenix, San Francisco, and Washington, DC. The scholarship is part of the Plano, TX-based company’s commitment to the PepsiCo Racial Equality Journey initiative, which will contribute $570 million to address issues of inequality over the next five years.
“Investing in these students means investing in tomorrow’s success. It’s a privilege to play a role in their futures,” said Steven Williams, CEO PepsiCo Foods North America. “At Frito-Lay, we’re proud to celebrate diversity at every level of our organization and remain committed to supporting future generations through resources that enable them to continue their education journey and achieve long-term success.”
Submissions are being accepted now until September 29. To be eligible, applicants must be an enrolled Black or Hispanic full-time student at an accredited four-year college with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5.
And last but not least, I want to give a shoutout to the Weis Markets’ store managers from the New Jersey and Northeast Pennsylvania locations for volunteering a few weeks ago with the non-profit, America’s Grow-A-Row in Pittstown, NJ. They managed to harvest more than 16,000 pounds of produce which will support approximately 60,000 food-insecure families in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware. In addition to sending the volunteers, Weis Markets also donated $2,500 to the charitable organization. What a great way to give back to its communities!
Until next month…
Karen can be contacted via email at [email protected].