Two years ago, the Thx! label was introduced to retailers. Today, the label continues to expand and work to make dreams come true. Martin Casanova, one of the label’s founders, explains the concept: “We work with farmworkers who need help with anything from fixing a broken roof to sending their children to school. Each worker will have four to six dreams set for the season, based on the volumes they are supplying, and at the end of the season we will ensure that their dreams will be fulfilled. We currently work with a total of 15 to 20 growers throughout Canada, the United States, Chile, Peru and Argentina, and at the end of this year we’ll have fulfilled around 45 dreams total.”
Connecting consumers and farmworkers
One of the label’s goals is to bring increased awareness to the consumers as to where their food comes from. “With the technology that is going to be launched in a couple weeks, the consumer’s interaction with the label will be even more exciting,” Casanova shares. “The current technology has the consumer scan a QR code that links to the webpage where they’re able to watch a video of the farmer who grew the product. The new technology is an augmented reality application: the consumer will scan the label and the label will come to life and turn into the video. The video shows the dreams that are coming true because of the purchase.”
The label helps consumers make an impact in communities all over the world and makes it simple for them to connect to the origins of the fruits they are eating. “The product gives the consumers a very tangible sense of traceability. The label isn’t a replacement for official traceability, but it is very effective for the consumers to see where their purchases were grown, and by who,” says Casanova.
Expanding the reach of the Thx! label
The Thx! label is deployed by Fudi Food, an importer and marketer of fresh produce in the United States. The company works with many different products, and currently the Thx! label is used with blueberries and cherries. “Fudi Foods also work with pears, apples, citrus, and avocados, but these are still sold under the growers’ own brand. We would like to expand the Thx! label to each of these products, and that is part of our future strategy,” Casanova shares.
The company just added grapes to the Thx! label line. “This will be launched in November with growers from Chile and Peru,” says Casanova. “The new technology that will be launched in the coming weeks will also make it easier to use the label on bulk products like pears or lemons, for example; the consumers will be able to simply scan the PLU to access the videos.”
1000 dreams a year…
…That’s the goal for the creators of the Thx! label. “For the first year that we brought our label onto the market, our goal was to ensure year-round supply, and we have reached that. Now, we want to focus on providing a steady supply. Right now, the supplies can vary from 20 pallets a week to 250 pallets a week. We want to make sure we are able to supply steady volumes so that we can have a presence with retailers throughout the year, which will help create more awareness and increase purchases among the consumers too because they’ll know where to find us at any time,” Casanova explains.
Another way in which the label is working to reach their goal of fulfilling 1000 dreams a year is by licensing their label. “We started this as a trial last year in Argentina: we work with a company there who is using the Thx! label and using it in the Argentinian market to distribute their nuts and dried fruits. This has been very successful and will be an important avenue to help us expand the number of dreams we’re fulfilling,” Casanova concludes.
Currently, the Thx! label can be found on blueberries from British Columbia and cherries from Argentina. The Thx! label grapes will hit the US and Canadian market in November, and the company hopes to also add citrus from Spain and pears from Argentina to their lineup by December-January.
For more information:
Martin Casanova
Fudi Food
Tel: +1 (954) 618-1032
Email: martin.casanova@fudi-food.com
www.fudi-food.com
www.thxdreams.com