One of the recommendations from the 2018 proprietary consumer research NCG conducted was to make co-ops more welcoming to parents and kids. NCG recommends adopting and/or further leveraging one of NCG’s most popular (and cutest) turnkey marketing programs, Co+op Explorers, as part of that effort. Implementation guidelines and a wide array of support materials are available and are designed to have a big impact on your smallest customers, and their parents.
Kid-friendly Recipe Cards
The Co+op Explorers program offers kids a healthy snack while they’re shopping with their parents in your store, but now you can offer recipe cards to get kids involved with cooking healthy meals at home, too. Co+op Explorers recipe cards feature kid-friendly recipes from our archives on StrongerTogether.coop, reformatted as fun, colorful cards you can hand out in-store. Recipe instructions are written for kids, with how-to pictures and prompts for when they’ll need an adult’s help. You can order packs of 100 recipe cards for eleven different recipes in the NCG store.
Kid-friendly Cooking Classes
The Fruits and Veggies Passport is another great jumping off point for creative kid-focused activities your co-op can host. NCG member co-op, 3 Rivers Natural Grocery in Fort Wayne, Indiana uses it to guide their Co+op Explorers Cooking Club. “All participants taste, describe and draw our featured fruit or veggie, then they have a chance to help prepare and try two recipes.” says marketing assistant, Heather Grady. “Our shoppers big and small love the program.”
The Rewards of Eating Healthy
Of course, the real reward of getting kids familiar with healthy foods is that they will enjoy a lifelong relationship with foods that will nourish them and sustain their health. As the best place in town to get that food, your co-op can provide incentives and encouragement in that process. Download our Co+op Explorers T-shirt Designs and create some eye-catching wearables to offer to kids as prizes for completed passports, coloring contests, co-op treasure hunts and the like.
Remember that to make a program successful, it takes consistent promotion. Take advantage of many existing resources to get the word out and advertise Co+op Explorers to your community: Posters, banners, table tents, and shelf talkers; Facebook graphics, suggested posts and website banners; copy for your owner newsletter.
For more information about the Co+op Explorers program, check out Co+op Explorers: A Healthy Adventure.
