Florida Department of Citrus (FDOC) staff has been “hard at work ensuring the momentum experienced by the orange juice (OJ) category earlier this year doesn’t fade as we usher in the fall,” Ned Hancock stated recently. Hancock, chairman of the Florida Citrus Commission, provided that information and more in an update to the citrus industry on FDOC activities.
Hancock said the FDOC’s 2020-21 e-commerce campaign to drive sales of 100 percent OJ through online retailers “has driven more than $1.5 million in attributed sales and 59.5 million impressions … in the past nine weeks.”
The FDOC used new digital and video ads to drive consumers to purchase OJ, and also partnered with influencers to create engaging content that highlighted the benefits of Florida OJ as part of the back-to-school routine, Hancock stated.
“Sales of 100 percent orange juice continue to show promising results … despite it being a time of year when sales traditionally decline,” Hancock said.
He reported that the FDOC’s Global Marketing and Scientific Research departments debuted newly published FDOC-funded research that found 100 percent OJ and hesperidin may help to lower blood pressure. Learn more about that research.
Hancock said a “full-scale press initiative” secured media coverage about those findings in national media outlets. “Scientific Research Director Dr. Rosa Walsh and Assistant Director of Global Marketing Shelley Rossetter shared the history of the study, explained the findings and walked through how the headline came to be in a recent webinar,” Hancock said. See the webinar here.
“The study adds to the growing body of evidence showing 100 percent orange juice plays an important role in a healthy diet,” Hancock stated. The FDOC “put this story in front of hundreds of editors and producers, promoted it to thousands of consumers and landed seven articles in top-tier national outlets,” he reported.
The next virtual meeting of the Florida Citrus Commission will be Sept. 16, when commissioners will discuss plans for the season ahead. Learn more about that meeting here.
Source: Florida Citrus Commission Chairman Ned Hancock
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