Bolthouse Farms' Food Porn Index to be Featured at Building a Healthier Future Summit

BAKERSFIELD, Calif., March 12, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Bolthouse Farms, one of the largest producers of baby carrots and premium juice beverages in North America, announced today that the company's Food Porn Index, a website designed to bring lighthearted awareness to the unhealthy imbalance in Americans' online food conversations, will be a featured case study during the Partnership for a Healthier America's Building a Healthier Future Summit. Bolthouse Farms' Chief Marketing and Innovation Officer Todd Putman will discuss the Food Porn Index's initial impact in helping sway the conversation during a breakout session panel about the power of food marketing on Friday, March 14.

"The idea behind The Food Porn Index was to shine a light on the imbalance between how much we talk about unhealthy vs. healthy food online and start a discussion about how the constant stream of overwhelmingly unhealthy foods may be impacting our diets," said Putman. "Social media channels make consumers incredibly powerful marketers for the brands and ideas they love. By uncovering the impact of our collective conversation about food, we hope to inspire more conscious food posts."

The Food Porn Index monitors social media conversations and mentions through hashtags (e.g. #carrot, #pizza) of 24 key healthy and unhealthy foods. The program constantly monitors both Twitter and Instagram feeds and updates every 15 minutes, repopulating the site's pages, including the total mentions of the food-related hashtags, the individual mentions of each food item and the percentage of healthy mentions compared to that of unhealthy mentions. The site also features interactive user experiences designed to raise awareness for the imbalance and provides tools so that people can easily share on their own social feeds. Launched on February 20^th, the site is gaining consumer interest with over 42,000 unique site visits in under a month, driven primarily through social media and word-of-mouth. 

"Highlighting and sharing creative strategies is one of the many benefits of the Building a Healthier Future Summit," said the Partnership for a Healthier America's CMO Drew Nannis. "At this year's Summit, we're thrilled to have so many great organizations showcasing new and innovative ideas. Leveraging the power of social media is not a new goal for anyone, but efforts like the Food Porn Index show that finding new, creative, envelope-pushing strategies to shift the conversation happening there is not only still possible, but potentially powerful."

Bolthouse Farms developed The Food Porn Index based on its belief that there is a strong relationship between how one engages online and their actual habits. In a Harris Poll QuickQuery Survey conducted on behalf of Bolthouse Farms in early 2014, 55% of Americans said they 'talk' about food through social media channels. In addition, 51% of Americans who use social media agree that seeing images of fruits and vegetables on their social feeds motivates them to eat healthier. In comparison, 33% admit that seeing images of unhealthy food on social channels tends to make them give into their cravings for unhealthy food.

Bolthouse Farms partnered with Santa Monica-based advertising agency Tiny Rebellion to develop the creative for The Food Porn Index.

"Tiny Rebellion's bold and purpose-driven approach to creating global change made them an ideal partner to drive our mission of 'Inspiring the Fresh Revolution' through this first-of-its-kind interactive experience," said Putman.

About Bolthouse Farms
Bolthouse Farms is a farm located in California's fertile San Joaquin Valley, known for high-quality consumer brands and innovative products. Bolthouse Farms is a market share leader in growing and distributing carrots. In addition, Bolthouse Farms® produces and sells super-premium juices, smoothies, protein shakes and cafe beverages under the Bolthouse Farms brand name. In recent years, Bolthouse Farms diversified its offerings by launching a line of premium refrigerated yogurt dressings and extra virgin olive oil vinaigrettes. The Bolthouse Farms mission is to change the way people consume healthy foods and beverages. The company was acquired by Campbell Soup Company on Aug. 6, 2012. To learn more about the company's mission and see the entire line of current products, visit www.bolthouse.com.

SOURCE Bolthouse Farms