Superfresh Growers aims to drive fruit consumption with influencer campaign

With its ever-growing portfolio of blueberries and a large and long Pacific Northwest cherry season in mind, Superfresh Growers recently invited Team Nosh — a group of online creators specializing in fresh, nutritious and colorful food for families — to learn about Pacific Northwest farming by visiting its orchards and fields.

Team Nosh shared stories, recipes and knowledge from the visit to educate their collective more than 300,000 followers, according to a news release.

Superfresh Growers says topics covered during the two-day tour included the importance of skilled labor, farming sustainably and what it takes to ensure quality while maximizing the crop.

“As an advocate for health equity and food justice, this experience deepened my understanding of what it takes to provide equitable access to nutrient-dense foods,” said the Team Nosh representative from The Carda Mom, who posted a trip recap on Instagram.

Team Nosh captain Kelly Pfieffer, a long-time partner of Superfresh Growers, cherry-picked the group of influencers, the release said. Team members included Eat the Rainbow Kids, The Carda Mom, Kid Food Explorers, Food Kids Love, Eat Pretty Darling, Hello Little Foodies, and Pure Mom Blog.

Team Nosh is comprised of published cookbook authors, child food educators, registered dietitians and “big-time foodies,” the release said.

"Since my first trip to Yakima in 2017 until now, Superfresh continues to impress me with their innovations in farming, employee retention and support, and product quality. The best part for me on this particular trip was seeing my Team Nosh gals fall in love with Superfresh Growers just like I did all those years ago,” Pfieffer said.

The trip kicked off with a tour of the Superfresh Clemens Mountain Orchard led by Director of Farm Operations Quincy Menning. The 300-acre orchard sits on the Clemens Mountain hillside and provides late-season cherries thanks to its over 3,500-foot elevation, the release said.

From the orchard, Team Nosh also got to see the Superfresh Growers Zillah cherry line in action.

“Seeing all the behind-the-scenes effort that goes into growing the best cherries made me appreciate them even more,” said the Food Kids Love influencer.

The next day, Team Nosh and its Superfresh hosts traveled to Roseburg, Ore., where they got to pick their own blueberries and learn about farming in the Umqua Valley from berry experts Paul Norris and Gage Thompson. Here, the team learned what makes Superfresh blueberries high quality, how the company reduces waste in the field and how to preserve freshness post-harvest, the release said.

The tour continued through the packing line, where the group saw the technology and process of bringing blueberries to market.

“From cherries to blueberries and everything in between, it was great to see the process from growth to distribution and learn more about the greater impact Superfresh and local farmers are making across communities,” said the representative of Pure Mom Blog.

Superfresh says educating Team Nosh on its growing and labor practices — so that they can then share the grower’s farm-to-table experience with their followers — is invaluable.

“The biggest takeaway for me was how Superfresh prioritizes its people,” said The Carda Mom. “They ensure farmers and farmworkers earn more than a livable wage and are treated with respect.”