Dive Brief:
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The pecan industry has launched its first ever nationwide marketing campaign to encourage Americans to think of pecans as nutritious, versatile and indigenous — and not just an ingredient in holiday pies, according to an American Pecan Council release.
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Consumer research backing the campaign showed that many Americans thought of pecans as a baking ingredient rather than a nut, and associated them with indulgent desserts, pies and sweets, while other nuts were linked to snacking and nutrition. Using the slogan “American Pecans: The Original Supernut,” the marketing campaign aims to help consumers think of pecans in the same way they do other nuts, while playing up their American heritage and home-grown appeal.
- The U.S. Department of Agriculture approved a Federal Marketing Order for pecans in 2016. This collects funds from pecan producers, which is used in turn for marketing, research, data collection and standardization of nut quality and containers.
Dive Insight:
Tree nuts in general have benefited from increased desire for healthy snack foods, particularly among millennial consumers — but until now, pecans have lagged behind. About 300 million pounds of pecans are harvested in the U.S. each year, compared to two billion pounds of almonds. However, until the almond industry got its own marketing order in 1950, pecans were more popular.
Funding from the Federal Marketing Order is already being plowed into research to help prove the health benefits of pecans. A recent pilot study suggested pecans may reduce heart and diabetes risk. They have some way to go to catch up to other tree nuts like almonds and walnuts, which have benefited from federal research subsidies for decades.
Increased funding to change how Americans think of pecans could see manufacturers considering the nuts for a wider range of products, like cereals or snack bars. Tapping into emerging evidence of their health benefits — as well as the health halo of nuts in general — is a strategy that has worked well for products containing other tree nuts. Their “Made in America” positioning could give pecans an additional boost.
The U.S. pecan industry supplies about 80% of the world’s pecans, and is already preparing to benefit from the marketing campaign. Growers have planted thousands of acres of new trees over the past few years in anticipation of increased demand, but it remains to be seen if the nut can reach almond levels of popularity.