“The current health and wellness landscape is all about information overload. American’s today have so much access to information about health it can be overwhelming. It seems every day there is a new fad diet promising optimal results. It becomes too much, and too often we start believing that health is only for people with money, for people who like treadmills and juice cleanses, for people who like subscription-based fitness clothing or who don’t have jobs that keep them busy all day,” Natalie Morse, director of innovation and marketing and Chosen Foods, told FoodNavigator-USA.
“We want people to think again,” she added.
That is why, she said, Chosen Foods is launching “The Avolution,” which she described as “an initiative aimed at re-setting the mindset toward small, easy and every day changes that Americans can realistically commit to and that, taken day-by-day, cascade into a larger, meaningful impact in their lives and the lives of others.”
For example, swapping canola oil for avocado oil, such as the type that Chosen Foods makes.
“Using our 100% Pure Avocado Oil in place of other oils, for instance, has myriad benefits – its high smoke point (500 degrees – higher than coconut and olive oil) makes it among the safest for high-heat cooking,” Morse said. In addition, she noted, “our avocados are cold-pressed and naturally refined to preserve nutrients, and avocado oil has been shown to improve heart health, digestion, nutrition absorption and to reduce inflammation.”
A multi-faceted campaign
The campaign kicked off this week with a video intended to inspire views by first showing adults making unhealthy decisions – such as watching television, buying fast food or focusing on a smart phone instead of their children – while an overlaid message tells viewers that getting started is the hardest part. The video then shows a woman turning off her television and reaching for her walking shoes, a man throwing a way his fast food and preparing something fresh at home and another woman putting her phone down to play with her children.
The message reinforces Chosen Foods’ belief that “we can always make one change. If we just nourish that change – that seed of inspiration – and give it love, water and sunshine, it will grow,” Morse said.
A planned second video will feature testimonies about how making one change, whether its meditating daily, walking or saying something positive in the morning, has impacted the people who made them, as well as why they made those changes, Morse added.
“Our hope is the video content will inspire viewers to commit to the cause and share their own ‘one change’ that will then inspire even more people across the web – sparking the Avolution!” she said.
In addition to the videos, the campaign will promote the #MakeOneChange hashtag on social media and include an Avocado Festival in San Diego in the summer, which will feature live music and “avocado-centric cooking stations and activations,” according to the company.
New products in the pipeline
In addition to the campaign, Chosen Foods will continue to feed Americans’ obsession with avocados with two new product lines – one of Vegan Mayos and the other of avocado oil based salad dressings.
“We’ve also recently centralized our innovation ecosystem and made investments in a diverse two- to three-year product development pipeline,” Morse said. “We are incredibly excited about plans to move into a number of new categories using new organic ingredients that we know our consumers will really rally behind!”