Guest guest Posted September 6, 2006 Report Share Posted September 6, 2006 Good morning, Produce is getting a better rap in the popular press. Yesterday on the science website I read regularly the weekly medicine columnist raved Japan for promoting local, organic farm production in spite of being the most heavily urbanized country in the world. http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/060905_bad_farming.html This morning our local paper had a syndicated article on how disney is putting its cartoon characters on produce to attract kids to it. The article was buried in the back of the Business section. Couldn't find the article anywhere else, here is the brief text from it. LOS ANGELES - Mickey Mouse, SpongeBob and the Tasmanian Devil are coming to a produce aisle near you. The cartoon characters are popping up on fruit and vegetable packaging across the country as growers strike licensing deals with entertainment companies hungry to cultivate positive images among health-conscious parents and kids. Walt Disney Co., with its overwhelming cartoon capital and cultural clout, is the most significant entry in the produce business. The entertainment giant is licensing characters to Indianapolis-based produce distributor Imagination Farms LLC, which has deals with 15 large growers across the country to provide fruits and vegetables for the Disney Garden brand. ''We're doing it predominantly because it is the right thing to do, but secondarily because it is the right business to be in,'' said Harry Dollman, head of food products licensing for Disney. ''Concerns about the right nutrition for kids is not a fad; it's not something that will be overtaken by another trend,'' he said. Neither Disney nor Imagination Farms would discuss terms of the deal. Imagination Farms started shipping the produce in May and currently has more than 30 different Disney Garden items in Albertsons and other supermarket chains, said Matthew Caito, who heads the distributor. Caito plans to have 100 different produce items on supermarket shelves by January and another 100 by the end of 2007. ''We want to be able to supply an entire produce department with Disney Garden products,'' he said. Already available are peaches with Daisy Duck and Goofy stickers, and table grapes packaged in Mickey and Minnie Mouse boxes. Organic apples with Winnie the Pooh - the mascot for Disney Garden organic selections - are due in September. Nick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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