E. & J. Gallo Winery, Campbell Soup Company receive innovation and creativity award

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — E. & J. Gallo Winery and the Campbell Soup Company have won the 2013 CPG Awards for Innovation and Creativity.

The Grocery Manufacturers Association and its Associate Member Council give the award annually to companies they determine have demonstrated creativity and innovation and have made a significant impact on the industry knowledge base.

"In today's competitive marketplace, the transformative innovation that enables growth comes from really listening and reacting to the consumer," said GMA president and CEO Pamela G. Bailey. "GMA is honored to recognize E. & J. Gallo Winery and The Campbell Soup Company as companies that have cultivated a culture of fresh and innovative thinking."

E. & J. Gallo Winery took the Division A award for their Pair It. Share It: Engaging the Millennial Consumer campaign. To connect with the millennial crowd without alienating their core consumer, E. & J. Gallo developed an innovative campaign to relate to millennials and speak their language in stores, online and on their mobile devices.

Using extensive research, social media and a wine-and-food pairing website, the Pair It, Share it campaign taught millennials about wine and food pairing, how to take and share pictures of their food and allowed them to engage and get recommendations from others using the #PairItShareIt Twitter feed. In addition to the digital and social elements they engaged millennials in-store through displays, point of sale, recipes and pairing guides.

Pair It, Share It not only generated more than 100 million incremental impressions for the focus brands, but also drove impressive sales results for the retail partner.

“We are honored to receive the 2013 GMA CPG Award for Innovation and Creativity,” said Herb Smith, VP, off-premise customer development for E. & J. Gallo Winery. “This recognition would not have been possible without the support of our retail partners and their willingness to test new concepts to further drive conversion and penetration of the wine category. We continue to see a dramatic increase in wine purchases among millennials, which this program sought to leverage.

Campbell Soup Company received the coveted honor in Division B for Just Peachy salsa, a unique program that brought together Campbell, the New Jersey agriculture community and the Food Bank of South Jersey. Campbell’s culinary and product development teams created the salsa recipe, which converted 850,000 pounds of blemished, but edible, peaches into a shelf-stable product, saving farmers landfill discard costs and providing the Food Bank with a future model for sustainable revenue.

“Giving back to the communities where we live and work is part of Campbell’s DNA, and Just Peachy is an example of how companies can truly make a difference by applying the skills and expertise of their employees,” said Denise Morrison, president and CEO of Campbell Soup Company. “This program benefitted our long-term community partner, the Food Bank of South Jersey, and local farmers, and gave our employees a chance to contribute in a tangible way.”

Campbell donated the product costs, engaged suppliers to donate ingredients and materials, and engaged hundreds of employee volunteers to make, package and hand label the salsa. Just Peachy was sold online and through local South Jersey retailers, with 100% of the profits going directly to the Food Bank of South Jersey to help fund hunger relief programs and support the local food insecure population. Just Peachy now serves as a model for similar projects across the country.

The official awards presentation was made today by Greg Smith, global lead partner, KPMG LLP and chair of the GMA Associate Member Council.

Based in Washington, D.C., and founded in 1908, the Grocery Manufacturers Association is the voice of more than 300 leading food, beverage and consumer product companies that sustain and enhance the quality of life for hundreds of millions of people in the United States and around the globe. It is an active, vocal advocate for its member companies and a trusted source of information about the industry and the products consumers rely on and enjoy every day.