Food Forum: Connecting with Consumers by Giving Back

Now, more than ever, consumers are seeking to purchase products from companies that reflect their social and moral values. With the current consumer market dominated by Millennials, there has been an exponential increase in consumer demands for transparency, honesty and social and environmental awareness from the brands that they use. In this type of market, consumers seek out and respond positively to brands that leverage their economic power to offer support to important non-profit organizations in an effort to improve society as a whole. According to a 2015 Cone Communications Millennial CSR Study, more than nine in 10 Millennials would choose to switch brands to one that is associated with a good cause. This same study revealed that consumers are willing to make personal sacrifices in order to support issues that they care about, like paying a little more for a product. When making a purchasing decision, the mass majority of consumers are driven to choose products from a brand that shares their personal values.

Our brand, STAR, appreciates this market trend and the opportunity it provides for us to connect with our consumers. Our company, Borges USA – STAR Fine Foods, places great emphasis on spreading awareness of prominent social issues and providing donations to support them. Many of our company initiatives are designed in an effort to not only provide consumers with quality products, but also to offer support to important causes whenever possible.

For the past three years, our company has been a proud partner with the Susan G Komen Foundation. Each year we have made it our mission to support Susan G Komen through donations and changing the labels of some of our most popular products from green to pink during the month of October to support Breast Cancer Awareness. This year we will again be donating $60,000 to help support their efforts to fight breast cancer. Our company has the utmost respect for the Susan G Komen Foundation and its efforts to fund breast cancer research and provide help to those who are facing the disease. We believe consumers recognize the importance of this campaign and choose to interact with brands that share their values. 

We are also engaged in a local cause marketing effort in Fresno, Calif., which is the location of our company headquarters. STAR Fine Foods has created a partnership with Fresno State Athletics to help end hunger in the Central Valley. As part of the “End Hunger” campaign, STAR provides a donation to the Fresno Community Food Bank, which serves five counties in the Central Valley. The donation is generated for every sack made by the Fresno State football team, block made by the Fresno State basketball team and strikeout thrown by a Fresno State pitcher. For the 2015/16 campaign we donated 35,000 meals to the Central Valley through the Fresno Community Food Bank. As a company, we are very proud of this initiative and appreciate the opportunity to connect with and support our local community.

Additionally, through various retailers we also provide donations to the City of Hope Foundation, a leader in the research and treatment of serious diseases including cancer and diabetes. STAR Fine Foods is actively involved in supporting these organizations because we truly believe that by working together we can make a difference. Our goal is to provide our consumers high-quality products, and with their purchase they also make an impact on the issues that we, and they care about for many years to come.     

Patti Andrade is president Emeritus at Borges USA - Star Fine Foods. She can be reached at [email protected].