CU may seed veggie revival

DenverPost.com | Business

Newly returned from Chapter 11 bankruptcy status, Gardenburger (once again Wholesome & Hearty Foods Co.) has found a creative way to get back in the game:

The University of Colorado at Boulder is one of five universities nationwide vying to win an account from Gardenburger to promote veggie burgers to college students.

College students are a "natural target," Gardenburger spokeswoman Melanie Flaherty said. "They eat the products because they are vegetarian, or for health reasons, or for environmental and compassion reasons. College students tend to be more aware ... about the environment or about health."

Gardenburger approached advertising classes at universities in health-conscious cities, such as California State University at Long Beach, the University of Oregon in Eugene and Columbia University in New York City.

Gardenburger plans to use ideas from at least one university for a new marketing campaign scheduled for the fall.

"We're doing it for free and it gives our students real-world experience on a real client, not some assignment out of a textbook," said Greg Wagner, adjunct professor of advertising at CU.

In previous years, CU advertising majors have worked on campaigns for Izze soft drinks, Quiznos, Crocs, Frontier Airlines, Mania TV and Noodles and Co.

The growing diet for vegetarian and organic foods nationwide has brought increased competition for Gardenburger, with food giants Kellogg Co. and Kraft Foods Inc. gobbling up small burger manufacturers such as Boca Burgers and Morningstar Farms.

I liked that the article goes into that last bit at the end, as it emphasizes the growing heat in the vegetarian foods market, for better and for worse. Here's hoping the winning school comes up with a great campaign that results in more animal-free burgers sold in stores everywhere.

Categories: veggie burgers | Gardenburger