The response from the produce industry to a scheme allowing royalty-free use of the characters from popular children’s show Sesame Street has been varied, according to a report in The Packer, with some companies welcoming the opportunity and others dismissing it as being too generic.
The landmark marketing agreement, reached last October, allows the US Produce Marketing Association’s member growers, suppliers and retailers to use Sesame Street brand without having to pay a licensing fee.
Roger Pepperl, marketing director of Stemilt Growers, told The Packer that although the company had worked with Sesame Workshop exclusively in the past, there was limited benefit in carrying out generic promotions with the brand.
He added that because the characters appealed to very young children, it was not suitable for some product lines, such as cherries and citrus.
Other companies were more enthusiastic about the scheme. Todd Putnam of Bolthouse Farms, a supplier of baby carrots, said: “the idea of being able to put a Sesame Street set of characters on baby carrots for effectively no cost out of their budget is a big deal”. He said the company was planning to roll out the promotion nationally through individual retailers.
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