Utilizing the Disney Name to
Market Disney Garden™
Fresh Produce to Children:
What Does the Future Hold?
Brian Williams
Ben Blomendahl
Overview
 Childhood Obesity
 Imagination Farms
 Disney Brand
 Economics
 SWOT Analysis
 Recommendations
Children’s Health
 Cost of obesity related disease
 Diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, etc.
 $117 billion/year
(National Center for Health Statistics, 2004)
 Obesity and fruit and vegetable consumption
are inversely related
 32 percent of obesity explained by consumption
(or lack of) of fruits and vegetables (Blomendahl, Williams,
2008)
Obesity in the U.S.
1990
2007
Source: Center for Disease Control Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System
Disney and Childhood Obesity
 Disney offered high-fat, high-calorie foods in
parks and resorts
 Disney consumer products (DCP) division
 Offered less healthy foods
 Children linked fun to less than nutritious foods
Disney Going Healthy
 Opportunity for change
 Phase out fattening products
 Healthier choices in theme parks
 Chose not to renew contract with McDonalds
 New line of healthy foods for children
 Began taking proposals for using Disney name
Imagination Farms, LLC
 Don Goodwin
 Former COO of Green Giant Fresh and Produce
Marketing Consultant
 Matthew Caito
 Caito Food Services
 Brought idea to Disney
 Disney Garden™ fresh produce
 Mission: “Increase consumption of fresh fruit
and vegetable among children”
Objectives
Increase
consumption
of fruits and
vegetables
by children
Maintain
Disney’s
reputation
Build strong
brand
recognition in
the produce
department
Develop and
maintain a
profitable
business
Branding in Produce
 Reasons consumers purchase specific brands
Design
Prestige
Durability/Quality
 Consumers are willing to pay less for fresh produce
branding than branding in other products
 Younger people are willing to pay more (Jin, et al, 2008)
 Disney is associated with fun, magic, and wholesome
family values
Economics
 Supply and
Price
demand for fresh
produce in
supermarkets
S
P
D
Q1
Quantity
Economics
 I-Farm’s Goal:
Price
Shift the industry
demand out.
S
 Provide supply to
meet new demand
 Bring new
suppliers into
supermarkets
P2
P1
 Enter market w/o
hurting current
companies
D2
D1
Q1
Q2
Quantity
Economics
 I-Farm’s Goal:
Price
Shift the industry
demand out.
S
 Provide supply to
A
B
meet new demand
 Bring new
suppliers into
supermarkets
 Enter market w/o
hurting current
companies
P2
P1
E
C
D
D2
D1
Q1
Q2
Quantity
Economic Reality
 Monopolistic Competition
 Product differentiation (perceived or otherwise)
 Disney Garden™ may increase industry
demand
 The substitution effect
How can I-Farms best exploit these
realities to their advantage?
Disney and I-Farms Changing
Children’s Eating Patterns
 Disney characters create demand
 Children influence parent’s purchasing
 Parents more willing to buy fruits and vegetables
 Easily influenced by peers as well as by
advertising
 Disney makes healthy foods fun
SWOT analysis of I-Farms
Strengths
Weaknesses
Opportunities
Threats
Supplement the Strengths
Use Disney name as an advantage
Retailers can market with the Disney name
Continue educating on the importance of
healthy eating
Disney channel
Website
Convenient packaging for putting in lunch
boxes
Wipe Out Weaknesses
 New to the market
Must provide a quality product to gain credibility
Keep Disney Garden™ fresh and exciting
Change packaging to match new movies
Promotions via collectibles, puzzles, prizes
 Limited Resources
Promote efficiency in the workplace
Outsource less important tasks
On-going search for high quality employees
Wipe Out Weaknesses
 Suppliers accustomed to marketing
commodities
Offer seminars or other training for supplier
marketing representatives
Give tools to take advantage of Disney name
 Higher Free on Board (FOB) prices for
retailers
Offset higher FOB prices with more sales
Additional traffic in stores
Optimize Opportunities
I-Farms can become a pioneer
Product differentiation in produce
Bring children into the produce market
13 percent of US families with children consume
the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables
daily (Produce for Better Health Foundation, 2003)
Use care not to expand too fast
Focus on quality before quantity
Terminate Threats
 Food safety
Random product testing
Quality assurance process
 Competition
Product differentiation
Creativity is the key to set yourself apart from the
competition
Terminate Threats
 Seasonal quality differences
Expand to global suppliers
Offer certain items seasonally
 Recession
Food is less affected by recession than other
products
Turn into an advantage by encouraging less
eating out, more eating in
Steps to Achieve Objectives
Increase Fruit and
Vegetable
Consumption by
Children
Educate on
healthy eating
Use Disney
name to
influence
children
Steps to Achieve Objectives
Increase Fruit and
Vegetable
Consumption by
Children
Educate on
healthy eating
Use Disney
name to
influence
children
Brand
Recognition/Brand
Strength
Quality over
quantity
International
suppliers for
seasonal
differences
Keep Disney
Garden™
name fresh
Steps to Achieve Objectives
Increase Fruit and
Vegetable
Consumption by
Children
Educate on
healthy eating
Use Disney
name to
influence
children
Brand
Recognition/Brand
Strength
Quality over
quantity
International
suppliers for
seasonal
differences
Keep Disney
Garden™
name fresh
Maintain Disney’s
Reputation
Random
testing
Process to
ensure safety
Quality
products
Steps to Achieve Objectives
Increase Fruit and
Vegetable
Consumption by
Children
Educate on
healthy eating
Use Disney
name to
influence
children
Brand
Recognition/Brand
Strength
Quality over
quantity
International
suppliers for
seasonal
differences
Keep Disney
Garden™
name fresh
Maintain Disney’s
Reputation
Random
testing
Process to
ensure safety
Quality
products
Profitable
Business
Training for
suppliers
Product
differentiation
Outsource
unimportant
tasks
Encourage
promotional
ads by retailer
Bibliography






Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Center for Disease Control.
(apps.nccd.cdc.gov/brfss/). (accessed July 23, 2008)
Blomendahl, Ben. Williams, Brian. Findings on Obesity. 2008
Jun, Yanhong H. Zilberman, David. Heiman, Amir. Choosing Brands: Fresh Produce
Verses Other Products. American Journal of Agricultural Economics. May 2008: 463-475
Lin, Biing-Hwan. Fruit and Vegetable Consumption: Looking Ahead to 2020. Economic
Research Service. Agricultural Information Bulletin. November 2004.
(www.ers.usda.gov/publications/aib792/aib792-7/). (Accessed July 23, 2008)
Lin, Biing-Hwan. Reed, Jane. Lucier, Gary. U.S. Fruit and Vegetable Consumption: Who,
What, Where, and How Much. Economic Research Service. Agricultural Information
Bulletin, October 2004, (http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/aib792/aib792-2/aib792-2.pdf).
(Accessed July 23, 2008)
National Center for Health Statistics. Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity Among
Children and Adolescents: United States. 2003-2004
(www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pubs/pubd/hestats/ overweight/overwght_child_03.htm).
(Accessed July 24, 2008)
Bibliography

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

National Center for Health Statistics. Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity
Among Adults: United States. 2003-2004
(www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pubs/pubd/hestats/
obese03_04/overwght_adult_03.htm). (Accessed July 24, 2008)
Nestle, Marion. Food Marketing and Childhood Obesity — A Matter of Policy.
New England Journal of Medicine. 2006: 2527-2529.
Palmer, Edward L. and Courtney F. Carpenter. Food and Beverage Marketing to
Children and Youth: Trends and Issues. Media Psychology. 2006: 165-190
(http://www.informaworld.com/10.1207/s1532785xmep0802_6 ). (Accessed 17
July 2008).
Progress in Preventing Childhood Obesity: How do we Measure Up?. Report
Brief, Institute of Medicine, September 2006
State of the Plate: Study on America’s Consumption of Fruits and Vegetables.
Produce for Better Health Foundation. 2003
Questions???