Florida produce is set to receive a big marketing boost in the UK as part of the ongoing “Fresh from Florida” campaign sponsored by the Florida department of agriculture. The Waitrose retail chain will offer fresh Florida grapefruit, sweet corn and blueberries for two or more weeks each during the campaign, which also includes in-store samplings, recipe cards, and feature articles in Waitrose Food Illustrated.
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Florida chefs will conduct events designed to draw shoppers, media representatives, and restaurant owners.
A pilot program last year featuring Florida sweet corn resulted in a 125% increase in sales, with programme costs divided between Waitrose and Florida Agriculture. Similar marketing and promotion campaigns domestically and abroad have helped boost retail sales by more than US$1bn for Florida growers, who have been hit particularly hard over the last few years by natural disasters affecting most of the state’s crops.
