Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1328890
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Indian consumers have reported that they are seeking out nutritious foods. In addition, like many events around the world, Diwali was celebrated a little differently in 2020. Knowing this, and that consumers were on the hunt for nutritious snacks to gift — ones that prioritized the health of the family over traditional food presents — the Almond Board's India marketing team focused its efforts on the health benefits of almonds leading up to the festival. The team ran two sets of broadcast advertisements around the time of the festival, one communicating the health benefits of almonds and the other reinforcing the gifting of almonds. The gifting advertisement also ran on digital platforms such as YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. Leading up to Diwali, the Almond Board also placed advertorials (a paid journalistic article) and executed public relations initiatives to educate consumers about almonds' nutritional benefits and suitability as a snack (sharing the appropriate portion size of almonds), and encouraging the gifting of almonds during Diwali and other festivals. Expanding market opportunities Recent market research shows that consumers in India believe that almonds are good for skin health and beauty. With this insight, the Almond Board is expanding its India marketing program to include communications on beauty among younger female consumers. Tapping into the understanding that these consumers are typically more tech savvy, this fall the Almond Board started to run digital advertising on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, targeting these younger consumers. "While we've long understood other market's embrace of almonds due to their beauty benefits, our recent learning of a similar ideal among young Indian women opens the door to great opportunity for increased almond awareness and consumption," said Sudarshan Mazumdar, ABC's global marketing lead in India. "Pursuing this new opportunity while continuing proven marketing tactics, we remain committed to supporting the industry in increasing demand within this country, which has such solid market potential." While almonds are deeply rooted in Indian culture, there remains much opportunity to grow consumption — compared to other regions, India's per capita consumption (addressable population) is rather low. During The Almond Conference 2020 session "India: Growing Through the Pandemic," attendees learned how ABC is leveraging what it knows about Indian consumers to grow consumption while also engaging with government authorities to resolve market access issues. Almond Board of California 12