Like many marketers, I start off the New Year with an open mind to improve both personally and professionally. This journey begins with a very honest assessment of what is working and what is not and helps me to set the course for the next 12 months. Personally, this usually entails a modest plan for feeling better, inside and out.

Professionally, this evaluation centers around a seemingly simple question – are we doing all we can do to effectively increase the consumption of fresh produce? And if I am being honest, often times I am quick to answer “no” and then I quickly begin to feel overwhelmed as I compile the laundry list of actions that I feel are necessary to move that dial.

But this year as I look forward on the next 12 months, I have a different opinion. What I see taking shape in our industry has me believing that 2014 will be a significant turning point for fresh produce sales and thus consumption.

The self-imposed barriers that have once plagued our industry are seemingly disappearing. While more companies as well as our two chief associations are applying considerable focus and commitment to investing in two critical areas that will accelerate fresh produce consumption: Access and Promotion.

In short, it’s becoming clearer that many stakeholders in the industry understand that in order to move the dial on consumption we need to further expand the access and availability of our products while at the same time more effectively promoting and providing more information about them.

This will be a topic that The Core will continue to explore during 2014 because if we are successful in our unified efforts to maximize and improve these two areas, access and promotion, then we will have successfully positioned our products for increased consumption.

Allow me to further explain my logic…

Access – Our industry’s ability to expand the availability of our products.

Whether through a government funded program that supports more fresh produce in schools or as an option at the local fast food restaurant, either way we win. Think about the seismic shift that has occurred in schools alone in the last 5 years with the combined impact of the Fruit & Vegetable Program, improved School Meal Regulations and Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools! United Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Association has been and continues to open doors such as these on the Hill and in class rooms across the U.S., but need our unified participation and support to continue to succeed in these critical efforts.

Promotion – Our industry’s ability to position our products and stories to consumers to inspire and encourage them to choose fresh produce when and where available.

Effective promotion of fruits and vegetables must start with each company in this industry. This is your job, fresh produce marketer. To promote the products that your company sells to both potential buyers within the industry and out. This can be done so many ways but on a micro level, it starts with a fully funded marketing budget and plan to reach your target audiences 365 days of the year. From industry tradeshows to participating in social media activities, there are endless ways that each of us as individuals can make an impact on consumption. On a macro level, we have the opportunity to support our industry associations in their efforts to promote our fresh products. As opposed to some of my colleagues, I believe PMA’s effort to align our products with Sesame Street was exactly the type of promotion PMA should be championing for the industry. We need our marketing association to be opening doors that allow us to align our products with other trusted brands that help our products gain exposure. Period.

If you have made it this far in the post, THANK YOU! I want to make it clear that I do not think efforts such as Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools or the Sesame Street campaign will increase consumption of fresh produce alone. But I do believe that together, along with other focused efforts to increase access and promotion, these programs are the types of activities that will increase consumption of fresh produce at last!

As always, I am open to hearing your thoughts and points of view on the topic of turning the dial on consumption in the fresh produce industry. Please feel free to leave a comment here or email me directly at dalmy@dma-solutions.com.

To success in 2014!