Weathering the Storm: Marketing Resilience During Climate & Political Extremes
In the fresh produce industry, uncertainty has always been part of the job—weather shifts, fluctuating markets, labor shortages. But in recent years, that uncertainty has grown deeper, more erratic, and more prolonged. Climate extremes are disrupting growing seasons and supply chains. Political volatility is impacting trade, labor, and consumer sentiment. For businesses already operating on razor-thin margins, these stressors leave little room for error—and often, little room for marketing.
And yet, the need for strategic marketing is more critical now than ever.
When external chaos rises, your brand’s clarity, trustworthiness, and adaptability become vital lifelines for your business. Below are three essential ways marketing can help your brand not only endure but strengthen during turbulent times: contingency planning, strategic messaging, and proactive customer education.
Contingency Planning Starts with Communication
Fresh produce brands are experts at operational contingency planning: rerouting logistics, shifting pack schedules, sourcing alternate inputs. But marketing contingency planning? That’s often left until it’s too late.
Consider creating a communication playbook for the “what-ifs”—wildfire smoke disrupting harvest, a hurricane halting logistics, a new labor policy delaying shipments, or a food safety alert triggering fear. Your plan doesn’t need to be elaborate, but it does need to be ready:
- Identify key communication channels (email lists, trade partners, social, retail buyers)
- Clarify who leads crisis messaging internally
- Draft templated holding statements or updates that can be quickly customized
- Outline a visual asset bank (logos, field photos, updated maps) to support messages when news breaks
In moments of disruption, timeliness matters more than perfection. A calm, clear update—even a brief one—can reassure partners, buyers, and consumers that you’re in control, even when the weather isn’t.
Messaging: Be Transparent, Human, and Helpful
In unstable conditions, trust is currency. Your brand’s voice should be rooted in truth, not spin.
If yields are down due to heatwaves or supply is tight due to new legislation, don’t hide it—explain it. Communicate with empathy and clarity, using language that bridges the gap between field realities and customer understanding.
Instead of:
“We’re experiencing delays due to unforeseen circumstances.”
Try:
“Record heat across the West this month has shortened our harvest window. We’re working closely with our retail and logistics partners to minimize delays, and we appreciate your patience.”
Messaging like this does more than inform—it builds long-term brand equity by demonstrating your values and leadership during challenges.
Customer Education as a Resilience Strategy
In today’s climate—literally and figuratively—marketing must pull double duty: promote product and build resilience through education.
Teach your buyers and end consumers what’s going on behind the scenes. Help them connect the dots between climate conditions, pricing, availability, and quality. Use social media, blog content, sell sheets, and even packaging QR codes to explain why a fruit’s sugar content may be different this year, or why leafy greens are in shorter supply.
Education doesn’t have to be dry. In fact, storytelling is one of the most powerful tools you have. Share a grower’s perspective. Post a side-by-side visual of drought conditions then vs. now. Create a “Did You Know?” series that walks your audience through the ripple effects of a late frost or port delay.
When you invest in education, you’re not just defending your brand—you’re cultivating empathy and long-term loyalty from your audience.
The Bottom Line: Resilience Is a Brand Asset
It’s easy to view marketing as optional when times are hard. But the reality is, brands that communicate clearly and consistently during extreme events earn more trust—and often more business—on the other side.
Weathering the storm isn’t about putting on a brave face. It’s about facing the storm with your people. Let marketing be the bridge between what’s happening in the field and what your customers need to understand, support, and trust your brand in the moments that matter most.
Need help building your contingency communications plan or refining your messaging?
DMA Solutions is here to help produce brands grow stronger through storms. Reach out—we’d love to be part of your resilience strategy.
