SUNKIST GROWERS, NATURIPE AND ENVY APPLES COLLABORATE WITH WILDBRAIN’S STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE TO PRESENT A “FRUITASTIC” PRODUCE COLLABORATION, MOTHER’S DAY PROMOTION

VALENCIA, Calif. – April 11, 2022 – Top-selling fruit brands—Sunkist Growers, Naturipe Farms and T&G Global’s Envy™ Apples—launch new “Fruitastic” promotion for WildBrain’s new animated Strawberry Shortcake series Berry in the Big City, now available on YouTube and Netflix. According to a recent study, shoppers increased their basket spend by over 50 percent when strawberries and blood oranges were purchased on the same trip compared to the average strawberry trip. Total basket spend increases were also seen with apples and blood oranges trips. 

This spring, Naturipe (strawberries and blueberries) is representing WildBrain’s new Strawberry Shortcake character in the berry category, Sunkist is promoting Blood oranges with Strawberry Shortcake’s friend Orange Blossom, and Envy (apples) is celebrating Strawberry Shortcake’s move to Big Apple City in the new series. A complete “Fruitastic” produce takeover featuring adorable images of Strawberry Shortcake and her friends will kick off in May at select retailers in time for Mother’s Day, with merchandisers provided by the participating produce suppliers. With limited-edition packaging and merchandising displays, in-store promotional opportunities are available for a short time. 

A grocery store produce aisle with displays featuring cartoon characters.

“As life-long fans of the original Strawberry Shortcake series, we are thrilled to be partnering with WildBrain, as well as Sunkist and Envy, to celebrate the new series. This gives our produce brands a great opportunity to cross-promote all the delicious fruit that is featured in Berry in the Big City and to help establish the next generation of fans of this iconic brand,” said CarrieAnn Arias, Vice President of Marketing of Naturipe Farms.

To celebrate this partnership and to prominently feature their delicious strawberries and blueberries, Naturipe has launched an interactive webpage featuring Strawberry Shortcake and Blueberry Muffin that includes new custom recipe videos that inspire users to “bake the world a better place”. This page also includes downloadable activities for kids and grown-ups alike.

Sunkist rolled out limited-edition packaging for Blood oranges, featuring Strawberry Shortcake and Orange Blossom, available in 2 lb. and 3 lb. bags at select retailers. Naturipe has POS display signage to support this promotion available for retailers. Envy apples has also created promotional 2 lb. bags and bins. All three brands have also developed delicious and nutritious recipes for citrus, berries, and apple fans of all ages.

“This in-store and online promotion is unique, as all three brands come together to celebrate healthy eating and snacking in a ‘fruitastic’ way,” says Christina Ward, Senior Director of Global Marketing at Sunkist. “Our data shows that 62 percent of Blood orange shoppers prefer to eat them as a snack, so we are excited to introduce shoppers to a specialty variety they may have never tried before, like Sunkist Blood oranges.”

“As Strawberry Shortcake and pals ‘bake the world a better place’ in Big Apple City, only the best apple will do,” said Cecilia Flores Paez, Head of Marketing North America at T&G Global. “That’s why Strawberry Shortcake has partnered with Envy apples. Prized for their beautifully balanced sweetness, uplifting fresh aroma, and delightfully satisfying crunch, Envy apples are a perfect ingredient for enjoying both exciting adventures and everyday special moments with the people we love.”

“We’re thrilled that parents and kids—especially moms and daughters—will be able to share their love of Strawberry Shortcake and delicious fruit this spring through our partnership with Sunkist Growers, Naturipe Farms and Envy Apples,” said Michael Riley, CBO at WildBrain. “These household name brands are ideal promotional partners in our global Strawberry Shortcake franchise program, designed to inspire and delight kids through new content, toys, games, books, music, events and more.”

A complete “Fruitastic” merchandising takeover will kick off in May at retailers across the U.S. For generations, Strawberry Shortcake has brought joy to kids and families, and now she’s back, with a cool new look and confident, savvy attitude for today’s kids. WildBrain’s new series, Berry in the Big City, invites fans to join Strawberry Shortcake in Big Apple City, with her friends Orange Blossom, Lime Chiffon, Lemon Meringue and Blueberry Muffin, as the entrepreneurial girls run their fabulous food trucks and enjoy daily adventures filled with laughter and singing!

For more information, visit these unique landing pages: Naturipe, Envy or Sunkist

Media, please contact:

Aimée Norman at The DDA Group
aimee.norman@ddapr.com  
+44 (0) 7957 564 050

Sunkist Growers is a citrus marketing cooperative, founded in 1893, which is owned by and operated for thousands of family farmers growing citrus in California and Arizona. For more information, visit www.sunkist.com.

Naturipe® is a farmer-owned producer and marketer of nutritious, best tasting, premium berries and avocados that has been an industry leader for more than 100 years producing healthy, deliciously fresh, frozen, and value-added products. Because our diverse grower base shares resources, skills, labor, and knowledge, we are better farmers and, in turn, strengthen the local farm community. Our focus on innovation ensures year-round availability of locally grown and Globally Local™ conventional and organic fruit.

Envy is a trademarked brand that refers to the Scilate apple variety.  It was developed in New Zealand by Plant and Food Research and was patented in 2009.  T&G, which owns the Envy™ trademark, began distributing in the U.S. via its marketing partner Oppy. Envy is now grown, under license by T&G, in New Zealand, the U.S,, Chile, Asia, the UK, France and Australia.  Envy™ is marked in the U.S. by Oppy, CMI Orchards and Ranier Fruit Co.

About Strawberry Shortcake

WildBrain’s Strawberry Shortcake is one of the world’s most-adored brands. Since her creation in 1973, with the release of a simple Valentine’s Day greeting card, Strawberry Shortcake has grown and evolved with new content, toys and experiences for each new generation of kids. Parents who loved her when they were young, can now share a fresh new Strawberry Shortcake with their children through the all-new original WildBrain series Berry in the Big City, as well as through new toys, books, games, apparel, events – and of course, dolls, which still boast their iconic scent. Previous Strawberry Shortcake content in WildBrain’s library, including the series Strawberry Shortcake and Berry Bitty Adventures, and the animated movies Sky’s the Limit and The Sweet Dreams Movie, continues to delight young audiences on streaming and broadcast platforms worldwide. With an international presence that has generated over US 4$ billion in retail sales since its first launch, Strawberry Shortcake is a true character-brand phenomenon that is cherished by kids and families worldwide.Visit Strawberry Shortcake at: www.strawberryshortcake.com
Facebook: @strawberryshortcake
Instagram: @strawberryshortcake
Twitter: @Iamstrawberry

About Berry in the Big City

Strawberry Shortcake has big dreams! She believes with all her heart that a perfectly baked treat can brighten someberry’s day! And in the brand-new animated WildBrain series, Berry in the Big City, she is determined to “bake the world a better place” one cupcake at a time! That was never gonna happen back in her hometown of Berryville. Which is why Strawberry Shortcake packed her bags, grabbed her cat, Custard, and headed to the ONE place all the biggest names in baking go to get their big break: BIG APPLE CITY! If you can bake it there you can bake it ANYWHERE! In the ‘Big Apple’ bakers are the celebrities! The social influencers! Strawberry Shortcake is certain she’s got what it takes to be the next big thing…she just has to prove it! Fortunately, with the help of her new ‘berry besties’ – Orange Blossom, Lime Chiffon, Lemon Meringue and Blueberry Muffin – along with their lovable pets, a lucky mixing spoon and her fabulous new food truck, Strawberry Shortcake has all the ingredients she needs to “bake the magic happen”. It’s not gonna be easy, but Strawberry Shortcake is no ordinary berry and she can’t WAIT to show the world what she can do! Check out Berry in the Big City on the official Strawberry Shortcake YouTube channel.

About WildBrain

At WildBrain we inspire imaginations to run wild, engaging kids and families everywhere with great content across all media. With approximately 13,000 half-hours of filmed entertainment in our library – one of the world’s most extensive – we are home to such brands as Peanuts, Teletubbies, Strawberry Shortcake, Yo Gabba Gabba!, Caillou, Inspector Gadget, Johnny Test and Degrassi. At our 75,000-square-foot state-of-the-art animation studio in Vancouver, BC, we produce such fan-favourite series as The Snoopy Show, Snoopy in Space, Chip and Potato, Berry in the Big City, Carmen Sandiego, Go, Dog. Go! and more. Our shows are enjoyed worldwide in more than 150 countries on over 500 streaming platforms and telecasters, and our AVOD business – WildBrain Spark – offers one of the largest networks of kids’ channels on YouTube, garnering billions of views per month from over 245 million subscribers. Through our leading agency, WildBrain CPLG, we also license consumer products and location-based entertainment in every major territory for our own properties as well as for our clients and content partners. Our television group owns and operates four family entertainment channels that are among the most viewed in Canada. WildBrain is headquartered in Canada with offices worldwide and trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: WILD).