July 2015
A primary focus area for the Saskatchewan Pulse Growers (SPG) market promotion efforts is on building demand for Canadian Lentils in North America, by showcasing the versatility and health benefits of lentils. With consumers placing higher emphasis on eating healthier, more balanced diets, SPG sees opportunity for lentil consumption to increase because of their high protein and fibre content.
As part of SPG’s promotion strategy, lentils are promoted to a group of audiences that have been identified as key consumer influencer audiences such as culinary professionals, dietitians, bloggers, and food media.
In early July, SPG, under their promotional brand Canadian Lentils, hosted a group of Canadian food bloggers and food media, including representatives from the Food Bloggers of Canada, Canadian Living, Chatelaine, and Style at Home in Regina, Saskatchewan as part of the Canadian Lentils Farm to Table Tour.
“The goal of the Farm to Table Tour was to bring these key traditional and social media communicators out to the heart of Canada’s lentil growing region and show them the way lentils are grown, and the steps they go through before they end up on the dinner table,” explains Rachel Kehrig, Director of Communication and Market Promotion with SPG. “Many of the attendees, while familiar with lentils, had never seen a crop in the ground nor were familiar with the cleaning and (sometimes) splitting process lentils go through before reaching retail markets.”
After a visit to Simpson Farms/Seeds showcasing the production of lentils, tour attendees were treated to a hands-‐on lentil cooking class with Canadian Lentils brand ambassador, celebrity chef Michael Smith.
“Michael has been a close partner of the Canadian Lentils brand for several years now,” says Kehrig. “We have found that using him as a means to draw the attention of the key consumer influencers we are targeting has been a successful approach for the Canadian Lentils brand and our messaging.”
For an in-‐depth look at the Canadian Lentils Farm To Table Tour, SPG invites you to click on the links to attendee’s blog posts about the tour below.
- Where do our lentils come from? -‐ Amy Bronee – Family Feedbag
- Kitchen Sink Cookies & A Farm to Table Lentils Tour – Renee Kohlman – Sweetsugarbean
- Tour a Lentil Farm + Bacon, Lentils & Tomato (BLT) Salad -‐ Aimee – Simple Bites
- Cooking lentils with Chef Michael Smith – Amy Bronee – Family Feedbag
- Love Lentils – A Farm to Table Story – Food Bloggers of Canada
