Rudi’s Organic Bakery Inc. today launched a multi-faceted consumer education campaign designed to raise awareness of the presence of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in packaged sandwich bread. The campaign launch comes after a recent Zoomerang survey–commissioned by Rudi’s Organic–of more than 350 Colorado parents with children 12 years of age and younger. Survey results revealed that while a majority of parents, 60 percent, try to avoid HFCS in their family’s diet, only 23 percent are aware that packaged sandwich breads often contain HFCS. HFCS is a sweetener commonly found in processed foods and soft drinks and has been reported in health and nutrition studies to increase the risk of diabetes, cholesterol levels, and other adverse health conditions.
The new campaign will help educate Colorado parents about this issue by encouraging them to check ingredients labels for HFCS before purchasing dietary staples, including bread. The Rudi’s Organic campaign will include a consumer launch event, multi-media ad campaign, a series of family-oriented sampling events, and more.
“Based on Colorado parents’ concerns about HFCS, we are hoping to help them make more informed choices when purchasing staples, like bread and other baked goods,” says Doug Radi, vice president of marketing for Rudi’s Organic Bakery. “Rudi’s Organic will be arming parents with the information they need to identify products made without the use of HFCS or artificial ingredients.”
The educational campaign will launch with a “Get Real Bread” event on August 2 in partnership with KALC-FM Denver, Alice 105.9. During this event, Colorado moms and dads will be invited to trade in their conventional breads made with high fructose corn syrup and artificial ingredients for a free loaf of Rudi’s Organic Bread made with wholesome, organic ingredients and nothing artificial.
Other components of the campaign include print and television advertisements highlighting the presence of HFCS and artificial ingredients in most conventional, mass-produced packaged sandwich breads. The advertisements focus on drawing attention to the HFCS in conventional breads through the creation of “fictional” packaged breads named “Whole Grain High Fructose Corn Syrup & Oat” and “Prairie Azodicarbonamide White.” Many consumers can also expect to find their Sunday newspaper wrapped in one of these “fictional” bread packages on July 27. Plus, consumers will be seeing signage in their local supermarkets, highlighting these breads. Rudi’s Organic also will be sampling bread at a series of different events throughout the summer at soccer fields, festivals, retail stores, farmers markets, and outdoor malls. Lastly, just in time for the new school year, Rudi’s Organic will participate in an organic lunch box tour with other organic companies to help teach parents how to pack healthy, HFCS-free lunch boxes.
