Valley growers pitch new image for raisins

A decade ago, the Dancing Raisins captivated consumers. But in this era of tighter household budgets and increased competition at the grocery store, that approach doesn't sell raisins -- if it ever did.

These days, the raisin industry is taking a more practical approach to market one of the San Joaquin Valley's top crops, offering sobering advice about its nutritional benefits instead.

Valley raisin growers also are following a trend in the food industry by using social media to reach consumers.

Admittedly, the task of selling raisins -- a $309 million crop in 2008 -- has never been easy. Unlike other fruits or nuts that entice consumers with their sweet aroma, appealing color or juicy taste, raisins are small, dark, dry and wrinkled.

"We are not the most glitzy product out there, so whatever we can do to increase interest is going to be worthwhile," said Larry Blagg, vice president of marketing for the California Raisin Marketing Board, the grower-funded organization charged with promoting raisins.

 Raisins on the Web

Blagg and others don't dispute that the Dancing Raisins, who were retired in 1994, were popular. The problem was that they were a little too popular. The Claymation characters were a hit in the mid-1980s -- surprising nearly everyone, including Alan Canton, who was creative director of the former California Raisin Advisory Board, a predecessor of the marketing board.

"It was unbelievable," said Canton, who is now a marketing professor at Fresno State. "We were getting hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of pictures of kids dressed up as raisins. It was the mother lode of attention and awareness."

But Canton said the campaign lacked a strong message urging consumers to buy raisins.

Does it sell?

Experts say memorable campaigns are good, but to be effective they must prompt consumers to buy.

"The Dancing Raisins were cute and all that, but at the end of the day did they move product? And the answer is, not a whole lot," said Rob Frankel, a Southern California expert on brands.

Frankel says effective campaigns cause consumers to perceive a product as the only solution to their needs. Apple, for example, has done that with the iPod, which dominates the digital music-player market.

Raisin marketers understand that concept and hope to show consumers that their product is the solution for people seeking a healthful snack food.

Research has shown that raisins are high in fiber, potassium and antioxidants.

They were helped recently with a mention in Men's Fitness magazine. One of the magazine's resident experts -- nutritionist and author Elizabeth M. Ward -- said raisins are the single best fruit you can eat.

To help attract those health-conscious consumers, food companies are spending millions of dollars in nutritional research.

Last year, Paramount Farms boosted the sales of its nuts by leveraging the growing awareness of pistachios as being a healthy snack.

Paramount's Wonderful Pistachios brand increased sales by 233% after a three-month television blitz featuring eight celebrity figures showing how they crack open a pistachio.

The Get Crackin' campaign cost $15 million, but Paramount officials have said it was money well spent. The campaign positioned Wonderful Pistachios as the fifth-fastest-growing brand in grocery stores.

Although the 3,000-member raisin marketing board doesn't have Paramount's resources -- its total budget is less than $8 million -- it has hired nationally known nutritionist James Painter to help raise raisins' profile.