Sun Pacific Continues to Grow its Cuties Brand Two Years After Buying Exclusive Rights
PASADENA, CA - In the two years since Sun Pacific bought the exclusive rights to the Cuties brand, the company's seedless, easy-to-peel mandarins have quickly gained notoriety throughout supermarkets, but has the deal paid off?
For some parents and kids alike, mandarins have become synonymous with the name "Cuties," just as tissues have been called Kleenex. While it is a bit premature to say whether or not Cuties are a household name, Sun Pacific's $20 million annual marketing campaign has made huge strides since May 2013 when it was announced that the Cuties brand would be exclusively sourced by the California grower. Now, two years later, Cuties have appeared on our television screens and even fast food menus, encouraging parents to look for that recognizable logo and packaging.
Partnerships with companies like McDonald’s have strengthened brand recognition among moms and children, two of Sun Pacific’s biggest target audiences for Cuties. Since the inclusion of Cuties in McDonald’s Happy Meals, Sun Pacific has been exceeding expectations and feedback has been positive thus far.
Television ads, such as McDonald’s Penguins of Madagascar commercial, have also featured Cuties as one of the star attractions, building an even stronger connection with children. A big part of Sun Pacific’s marketing strategy is to create an emotional connection with moms so that they feel confident that they’re giving their kids a healthy, nutritious snack guilt-free.
Brand power, however, is just one of the factors behind the success of Cuties thus far. Sun Pacific is determined to match the growing demand with a consistent supply of quality mandarins. The company brings twelve years of experience growing mandarins to the brand, and has since added Moonlight Companies, LLC and Wawona Packing Company to the Cuties Cooperative to further bolster the supply, service, and merchandising support to its growing customer base.
Sun Pacific didn’t just stop at television ads. The latest Cuties digital marketing campaign gave “playing with your food” a whole new meaning when Sun Pacific introduced the Cutie Curl photo contest. The campaign encouraged children and “children-at-heart” to show off their Cutie-peeling skills for a chance to win an all-expenses-paid trip to privately tour Sun Pacific’s Cutie orchards.
Campaigns like this, along with Sun Pacific’s partnership with fast food icon McDonald’s, have proven that Cuties is a brand to be reckoned with in the citrus category. Though Cuties have been relatively successful for these past two years, competing brands such as Wonderful Halos have also been stepping up their game with widespread marketing efforts on television. In the meantime, it will be interesting to see what new strategies Sun Pacific may employ to keep this momentum going in the years to come. If these past two years are anything to consider, can we expect to see more ads targeting parents and their children or more partnerships with fast food giants? Time will tell.
