As more people make the switch to vegetarian or 'flexitarian' diets, almonds and pistachios are two of many alternative protein sources that also bring a range of additional health benefits to the table. They also happen to be two crops grown by Roll Global subsidiary Paramount Farms in California, which has been on a marketing blitz to drive demand through initiatives such as as Get Crackin' and promotional spots with TV host Stephen Colbert.

Paramount Farms VP of marketing Jasmine Hodari said marketing and public relations campaigns for the crops' associated Wonderful-branded products have helped strengthen demand in the world's two largest pistachio and almond markets - China and the U.S.

Jasmine Hodari

"I think we can only expect demand to grow for almonds and pistachio as people are looking for healthier diets, vegetarian diets, so pistachios are one of the lowest calorie, lowest fat nuts, and they're one of the highest in protein and fiber," Hodari told www.freshfruitportal.com during the Produce Marketing Association (PMA) Fresh Summit in Anaheim last month.

"Almonds are naturally cholesterol-free, so they're just really great snacking additions to people's healthy diets."

She said the catchphrase Get Crackin' has worked really well for Wonderful pistachios, along with a complementary health message and in-store displays.

"We started our fresh new campaign with the Superbowl, and then we we launched another nine promotional spots with Stephen Colbert that have been broadcasting on national TV since then - he's now the king of late night. He's going to be taking over from David Letterman in about a year or so.

"We want it to be authentic, but it’s also an investment. Any time you use a spokesperson, usually they have to be supportive of the product they’re pitching. He does love the product."

All these marketing efforts are just one cog in the expensive wheel that is tree nut production.

"When you plant the tree it can take up to five to seven years to bear fruit, so you’re making an investment in growing something where you don’t see income from it for a few years," Hodari said, adding the company was fully vertically integrated in almonds, while for almonds Paramount owned a good percentage of the land it sourced from and also dealt with grower-partners.

"But it's worth the investment because we want to get high quality product to consumers, and we want to be able to grow that product ourselves."

"Mother nature of course is unpredictable, so we deal with uncontrollable environmental and climate factors, but we do our best through water management and sustainable farming practices to make sure we're environmentally friendly and we focus on getting the highest yield possible."

Part of this sustainability focus included investment in solar panels to power some of the processes at Paramount's plant, along with some support from fuel cell energy.

"We also focus on good water management practices like micro-irrigation; we make sure every drop counts."

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