KIDS BECOMING 5 A DAY TARGET MARKET

AMY I. STICKEL

Westlake Village, Calif. -- Fruit and vegetable suppliers are partnering with supermarkets and schools to reach an important target market: kids.

Dole Food Co., based here, has helped develop the original "5 a Day" school tours and adopt-a-school programs, according to Lorelei DiSogra, director of nutrition and health.

DiSogra said she trains hundreds of retailers to do store tours every year. Her goal is to have 2 million students participate in store tours during the 1996-'97 school year.

The tours are targeted at children aged 5 to 10 years old, she said. Dole provides educational materials for stores and schools, including cookbooks and magnets. The company also gives away free copies of a CD-ROM, "5 a Day Adventures," to schools across the country, according to DiSogra.

Kids often send suggestions via e-mail, DiSogra said. In fact, the virtual tour of a salad factory on Dole's Web site was based on a suggestion by a youngster who wanted to visit a salad-processing plant.

"I view Dole as facilitating partnerships with retailers and schools and children," said DiSogra. "I view this as non-commercial. We're not marketing Dole, we're marketing 5 a Day." Another example is Newark, Del.-based Remline Corp., an official supplier of 5 a Day materials for the Produce for Better Health Foundation. It has included a variety of kid-oriented products in its latest catalog, according to Linda Moreland, director of media and marketing services.

Those products include educational bookmarks, watches with 5 a Day characters, growth charts and coloring books, among others. Retailers and health organizations are major purchasers of such items, she said.

Tanimura & Antle of Salinas, Calif., has also discovered the value of tailoring its marketing program for children -- it has developed a line of precut vegetables aimed at kids.

One such product is a package of mini carrots that are washed, peeled and ready to eat, with a cup of dressing included. There is also a value-added salad mix that includes a collectible toy, according to the company.