Strawberry Shortcake Pushes Strawberries In-Store

A match made in heaven? Strawberry Shortcake, for the first time, has struck a deal to help sell her favorite fruit—strawberries, of course—to kids.

DIC Entertainment has partnered with the Florida Strawberry Growers Association (FSGA) to promote the sale of fresh strawberries at 893 Publix Supermarkets.

Events are scheduled March 4-10 at stores throughout the Southeast region, including those in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama and South Tennessee. The campaign, which uses the Strawberry Shortcake character as a spokesperson, will target kids two to seven and their parents.

“We feel that Strawberry as a character really touches kids, said David DiLorenzo, vice president, retail at DIC. “Kids are familiar with her. It’s a great opportunity to bring the message to kids about fresh fruit. The promotion is the first of what we hope will be bigger things in the future.”

In-store posters with healthy messaging, including “Packed with Sweetness: strawberries…a berry healthy snack” and print ads will support the effort. The FSGA will award prizes to the store with the best displays.

Strawberry Shortcake has reported $41.6 billion in retails sales worldwide since it relaunched nearly four years ago.

The cute little red-haired girl, made popular in the 1980s, relaunched in 2003. DIC Entertainment is the brand’s worldwide licensor and is looking into deals for its 16 other characters, DiLorenzo said.

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