fresh&co takes pride in our year-round inclusivity and in welcoming patrons of all kinds to dine in our fast casual, healthy restaurants, so we were pleased to offer a special menu and services during the ultimate celebration of inclusivity, Pride Week 2019 NYC.
While the LGBTQ community has spending power estimated at over $900 billion annually, marketing must be genuine and part of a year-round commitment to inclusivity. fresh&co is one big family and we take any opportunity possible to spread the love we feel for one another, and to extend it into the communities that we serve, so a Pride Week program was a natural extension of that commitment, not a one-time marketing effort.
"This is more than just a campaign and a limited-time-offer menu to us. It's a movement to spread love throughout New York and beyond," said Sandra Pope, Director of Marketing.
"We believe that everyone is equal, which is why we support Pride," said George Tenedios, CEO of fresh&co. "Inclusivity and our positivity around spreading love is not just something we support once a year, but rather throughout the year with initiatives that give back to the community and all backgrounds regardless of race, color, and creed."
During Pride Week we offered a special menu and took part in the Manhattan celebrations with our Pride Truck, a food truck that delivered free food and positivity to those taking part in the festivities.
The Pride Menu
The special Pride Week menu included rainbow-colored bagels, as well as two specially curated items, the Love Salad, a colorful combination of fruits and vegetables in a prickly pear vinaigrette, and The Rainbow Sandwich, a roasted chicken sandwich with marigold petals and vegetables on healthy multigrain bread. Our menu was designed to both celebrate the colors of the rainbow but also to offer delicious, nutritious food items to our patrons.
We were honored to donate 20% of our Pride Menu sales from these items to the non-profit organization, NYC Pride.
The Program
Not only did we offer this special menu, but we enhanced the welcoming atmosphere in our stores by having our employees wear hot pink shirts with the tagline, ‘just made. just for everyone.’, a special change from our year-round tagline of, ‘just made. just for you’.
A video was launched featuring interviews with people sharing their thoughts on love and its meaning, and how we can demonstrate love more effectively to one another in big and small ways, every day.
In addition, we hosted a social media contest in which participants posted photos of their fresh&co Pride Menu meal with an @freshandconyc tag, and a follow. The winner received a full year of fresh&co food!
Finally, in one of the most visible aspects of the program, we sent out our fresh&co Pride Truck to provide service around Manhattan during the event. Customers who wrote words of affirmation on a paper bag were given a free Pride menu item, and the bags with the positive and loving notes from strangers were used to give food to Pride celebrants.
Fresh&co joined 50+ brands in offering special food and items to the LGBTQ community during Pride week, and the press took notice. These offerings were featured in numerous articles in press outlets, in both mainstream and LGBTQ-focused media.
The Franchise Connection
Even though our political environment is highly charged, inclusive brands like fresh&co do not shy away from taking hard stances on social concerns that have an impact on the communities that we serve.
78% of LGBTQ community members indicate they are inclined to support companies that market to and support them, according to Community Marketing & Insights, an LGBTQ-focused research firm. Having a year-round commitment to this support is not only the right thing to do, but a solid business decision. Our casual fresh restaurant franchise partners will benefit from not only managing a healthy food franchise but also from our commitment to supporting important social movements and events.
Do programs such as our Pride Week menu and events appeal to you?
Are you looking for a fresh-food franchise option with a company that doesn’t hesitate to take a social stance?
fresh&co may be the perfect fit for you. We would welcome an opportunity to speak with you about your goals, not only financial, but for making the world a better place, one meal and one program at a time. Contact us today, and let’s have a conversation.
