Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1271705
20 Sugar Producer AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2020 Keepin' It Real Consumers are looking for "real" food: introducing Real Sugar FROM THE SUGAR ASSOCIATION Courtney Gaine, R.D., Ph.D. | President & CEO Consumer research has taught us a lot lately, but the biggest trends among consumer interests are transparency and simplicity—consumers want to know and understand the ingredients in their food. While we all know that real sugar comes from sugarbeet and sugarcane plants grown on farms, most consumers do not. Only 33 percent of consumers know that sugar comes from plants, only 22 percent believe sugar is minimally processed, and fewer still (17 percent) understand that sugar is grown on a farm. REAL SUGAR COMES FROM PLANTS This past winter we launched the first phase of a campaign to connect consumers with the natural origin of real sugar. After we identified how to best communicate this message to consumers, we developed graphics and launched a digital marketing effort to educate our target audiences and drive them to our website to learn more. The first phase aimed to create and deploy a highly targeted digital advertising campaign in two pilot markets (Sacramento, Calif., and St. Louis) to showcase the positive impact of sharing the right message with the right people in the right way. At the most basic level, the campaign was designed to show consumers sugarbeet and sugarcane plants to impress that sugar comes from plants. In our efforts to identify what messages work best to communicate this, we also confirmed that the term "Real Sugar" really resonates with consumers—"Real" means something. Using this term alongside the images and messages displayed in the graphics here proved successful in significantly increasing the number of people who agree that sugar comes from a plant and that sugar is real. REAL SUGAR IS GROWN ON A FARM We also included our farm-to-table messages in the campaign, reinforcing that sugar is grown on a farm and continuing our efforts to connect consumers with you—the people behind the product. Our advertisements reached audiences on social media and a targeted selection of influential blogs and websites. Post-campaign consumer research showed that seeing the ads and messages positively changed consumer views when it comes to how strongly they agree with statements like "Sugar is natural," "I know where sugar comes