2007 Q1 Newsletters

March Member E-newsletter (sent March 22, 2007)

DEAR WHOLE GRAINS COUNCIL MEMBERS,

We enjoyed meeting with 48 WGC member companies at Natural Products Expo West earlier this month. It's always a pleasure to meet so many of you face to face and take those email-and-phone relationships to the next level!

WGC ANNUAL MEMBER MEETING MONDAY MAY 7 IN CHICAGO
Speaking of meeting face to face, we will be holding our annual WGC member meeting Monday May 7, from 5-6:30pm, in Chicago. Since many of our members attend the FMI, All Things Organic, and Fancy Food shows being held concurrently at McCormack Place, this is a good time for a gathering. The meeting will be held in the Hyatt Regency McCormack, conveniently adjacent to the show halls.

At the meeting, we'll review the accomplishments of the past year and preview upcoming plans -- including ideas for Whole Grains Month in September and our "Just Ask for Whole Grains" conference in November. We will be sending out an agenda and more details in April's newsletter, and asking for RSVPs then. But we wanted to give you the date now so you can make plans. We know that many of you may not be able to attend so, as always, we'll make the meeting summary and any handouts available to everyone after the meeting.

SPONSORS FOR NOVEMBER CONFERENCE IN KANSAS CITY
Though our conference Nov 5-7 in Kansas City is still months away, WGC members are already stepping forward to support this great event. The WGC Board of Directors would like to thank Bob's Red Mill, FritoLay, General Mills, Schwan Foods and Harvest Time Bread for signing on as our first sponsors.

This will be a major international event, and its ambitious scope means it cannot be funded by membership dues alone. Call Cynthia Harriman (cynthia@oldwayspt.org) and tell us about your marketing goals, so we can explore how your sponsorship would bring your products more attention from the top journalists, health professionals, business executives and government leaders attending this conference. Don't miss out!

"JUST ASK"CAMPAIGN IS SPREADING LIKE WILDFIRE
Our grassroots "Just Ask for Whole Grains" campaign started at the beginning of March, with the end goal of having at least one whole grain choice everywhere Americans eat.  A recent article in the Hartford Courant captured the idea well, saying, "... the new "Just Ask" campaign of the Whole Grains Council ... urges customers to be a gentle thorn in the side of the nation's fast-food joints, dining halls and restaurants. Even if you think these places don't offer whole grain options, the council wants you to ask anyway. You might be surprised to learn they do. They might be surprised to learn someone wants it."

"Just Ask" is striking a real chord with consumers and health professionals across the country. You can see a sample of the diverse responses we're getting at http://wholegrainscouncil.org/JALookWhosAsking.html

Here's how you can join the "Just Ask" campaign:
1. Contact us if you want some "Just Ask for Whole Grains" buttons sent to you for your next trade show, PR campaign or community health fair. We have plenty in stock now, and they're free to members.
2. Add your product(s) to the prizes offered in our monthly "Just Ask" consumer drawings. There will be ten monthly drawings, from March through December 2007, and prizes are awarded to the consumer AND to the restaurant. We expect the prize list to grow every month. See  the current prize list at http://wholegrainscouncil.org/JustAsk.php
3. Wear your button and JUST ASK everywhere you go!

JAMES BEARD AWARDS SHOW WHOLE GRAINS ARE HOT!
Nominees for James Beard Awards -- the culinary equivalent of Academy Awards -- were announced last week, and two WGC members were honored for their work in spreading the word about the delicious taste of whole grains. Lorna Sass, culinary advisor to the WGC, was one of three honorees in the "Healthy Focus" category, for her book "Whole Grains Every Day, Every Way."  King Arthur Flour Company was similarly honored but in the "Baking and Dessert" category for the "King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking" cookbook.  (WGC culinary advisor Ana Sortun was also nominated for "Spice" -- not a whole grain cookbook, but still an indicator of the talented people contributing to the success of the WGC!) Congratulations to all; winners will be announced in May.

QUARTERLY MEMBER DIRECTORY ENCLOSED
Networking with other WGC members is an important benefit of the Whole Grains Council. Four times each year we email all our members an updated WGC directory so you can contact other members to buy and sell ingredients or plan comarketing efforts.  

The list also includes our Scientific Advisors, who can be contacted with technical or health questions (depending on their experitse) and our Culinary Advisors, who answer questions from consumers and members about cooking with whole grains. Some of our culinary advisors can also be engaged as consultants, to help you with recipe development, cooking demos or other culinary support activities. WGC members and advisors are a great resource for all of us.

Best regards from all of us at Oldways and the Whole Grains Council,
Cindy
------------------------
Cynthia Harriman
Director of Food and Nutrition Strategies
Oldways / The Whole Grains Council
603-436-1608 direct
617-896-4820 main office

"February" Member E-newsletter (sent March 2, 2007)

DEAR WHOLE GRAINS COUNCIL MEMBERS,

February is such a short month that we held up your monthly member update an extra two days to include a few pieces of late-breaking news.

"JUST ASK" CAMPAIGN STARTS NOW!
We're happy to announce that our exciting new "Just Ask for Whole Grains" campaign officially kicks off next Monday. Its goal is to get Americans across the country asking for whole grains everywhere they go.

Highlights of the launch include:
** Press releases sent this week to over 600 journalists -- each of whom will receive a few of our "Just Ask" buttons along with details about the program.
** "Just Ask" buttons sent to leading TV talk shows, including Oprah (who covered our Stamp in its early days)
** Launch partners all handing out information and buttons at locations as diverse as Stanford University; an oil camp in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska; Radisson Hotels; and the U.S. Navy.
** WGC members spreading the word at trade shows, starting with Natural Product Expo West March 9-11.
** New web-based features on the WGC website, to support the program throughout 2007

We invite you to visit http://www.wholegrainscouncil.org and click on "Just Ask" Campaign to see all the great features, including an entry form and prizes for consumers and restaurants; an "I asked" button consumers can click every time they ask for whole grains; and "Whole Grain Report Cards" Americans can download and leave behind at restaurants, to send a message to management.

The "Just Ask" program will run throughout 2007, culminating in our November 5-7 "Just Ask for Whole Grains" conference in Kansas City. We welcome your involvement in the launch, the conference, and in activities in between, as we continually freshen up the "Just Ask" program with new messages.

Contact Cynthia Harriman (617-896-4820 or cynthia@oldwayspt.org) if you:
1) Have additional creative ideas we can weave into the "Just Ask" campaign.
2) Want to contribute "Just Ask" whole grain product prizes, to draw additional attention to your products
3) Would like to be a sponsor of the November conference, to garner special media attention

EXPO WEST EXHIBITORS -- LAST CALL FOR BUTTONS
Over 30 WGC members are exhibiting at the Natural Products Expo West March 9-11 in Anaheim. We've sent "Just Ask for Whole Grains" buttons to many of you. Does anyone else need these free giveaway lapel pins? If so, email us today (cynthia@oldwayspt.org) with a name and address AT YOUR HOTEL in Anaheim, where we can send a last-minute shipment.

Cynthia Harriman will be speaking at the Healthy Baking Seminar on March 8, and visiting the Expo on March 9th and 10th. We look forward to stopping by your booth to say hello to members we already know – and to meet some new faces. [Note, we had explored the possibility of an informal networking meeting during Expo West, but were unable to arrange a meeting room without high costs.]

SEPTEMBER WILL BE WHOLE GRAINS MONTH
In our January member email, we asked members to weigh in on a choice of Whole Grains Month. Thanks for your input, as a result of which we've chosen September. September has great connections to bounty, to harvest-time, to back-to-school... and for many of us, it's the psychological start of the year cycle, when we leave behind the anything-goes attitude of summer and get our lives back on a more organized and healthy track.

We're already planning events for Whole Grains Month, including the announcement of award winners from our foodservice "Whole Grains Challenge" (running May - June) and a final media alert for our November conference. We recommend that ALL of our members plan now, for ways to highlight whole grains in September. If all 150 members of the WGC emphasize whole grains at the same time (in ads, on websites and with special events), the message will reach consumers loud and clear.

NEW MEMBER BENEFIT -- MenuMine Database
The WGC has arranged special access and discounts to a powerful new resource for members marketing to restaurants and foodservice. We're partnering with the Foodservice Research Institute, creators of MenuMine, a database that tracks foods on menus across the country. This incredible lode of info includes menu data from 600 chains, 300 independents, and a cross section of hospitals, nursing homes, colleges/universities, schools, and workplace cafeterias in over 50 metro areas of the U.S.  You can learn more or sign up for a 10-day free trial at http://www.foodserviceresearchinstitute.com.

At the start, members will benefits in two ways, with:
a) SUMMARY FACT SHEETS on the use of different whole grains from the MenuMine database. Want to know how many places are using quinoa, and in what dishes? What types of restaurants serve barley in soup? We'll be posting fact sheets on the member pages of the WGC website.
b) DISCOUNTS on access to the entire database, including 50% off on custom projects and queries.

In the coming months, we hope to add to these MenuMine benefits. Stay tuned in our next member newsletter for more details -- which will also be on the WGC website in the "Resources for WGC Members" area under "Discounts and Deals." Later, the Foodservice Research Institute will be sending out information to all members, explaining how you can access MenuMine and detailing the tremendous capabilities of this database.  Inhouse, the WGC staff will be using MenuMine to track the presence of the Whole Grain Stamp on menus, as our restaurant programs move forward.  We think MenuMine will be extremely useful as the official menu information resource of the Whole Grains Council.

NEW MEMBERS HIGHLIGHT WGC'S DIVERSITY
The three newest members of the Whole Grains Council illustrate our group's growing diversity.
1) Tyson Foods, a company that's now breading some of its chicken products with whole grains, is a great example of how companies that are not primarily in the grain-products business are now joining our cause.
2) Kitchen Resource, a maker of grain mills for home bakers, has become a member to show their support of all things whole grain – extending the WGC into the appliance category.
3) Whole Foods Market, in joining the WGC, gains the right to use the Stamp on all its qualifying products,  including the many whole grain choices in its bakery and deli departments. Following in the footsteps of earlier supermarket member Martin's Supermarkets, Whole Foods sends a strong message that whole grains are an important component of healthy eating.

CANADIAN FOOD GUIDE ENDORSES WHOLE GRAINS
Earlier this month, our neighbors to the north issued their new Food Guide, as a rainbow rather than a pyramid. We're pleased to see that Canadian recommendations now parallel U.S. ones, in urging consumers to "make half their grains whole" -- as a minimum. We are in talks with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency about extending use of the Whole Grain Stamp to Canada, a move requested by many of our members who sell on both sides of the border.

DO YOU WANT TO GIVE AWAY SAMPLES OR MARKETING GOODIES?
RDs and other health/educational professionals planning health fairs and promotions often contact us looking for materials that will help promote whole grains. Product samples, coupons, pencils, post-it pads, and such are always welcome. Would you like us to contact you about such opportunities? We're creating a list of members who are interested in providing goodies for occasions like these. A few weeks ago, for instance, several of you responded to a request from Stanford University. This week we have requests inhouse from an oil camp in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, and from the University of Iowa, both running health fairs in March. This is your chance to get your name in front of new customers. Email Lauren McGuire today (Lauren@oldwayspt.org) to be included on our contact list.

Best regards from all of us at Oldways and the Whole Grains Council,
Cindy
------------------------
Cynthia Harriman
Director of Food and Nutrition Strategies
Oldways / The Whole Grains Council
603-436-1608 direct
617-896-4820 main office

January Member E-Newsletter (sent January 19, 2007)

Dear Whole Grains Council members,

2007 started off with another great media triumph for the WGC and the Stamp in Good Housekeeping's January issue. With 4.6 million paid copies sold every month and a readership of over 25 million, this kind of coverage ensures that the public is looking for your products when they go to the supermarket. Over the next few months we expect additional coverage in publications as diverse as Health magazine, Diabetes Self Management and Organic Gardening. Email us if you'd like a full list of the nearly 200 whole grain articles involving the WGC during 2006.

GOT COUPONS?  FREE MARKETING OPPORTUNITY FOR WGC MEMBERS
Del Monte has invited the Whole Grains Council to partner with them in a program called "Just One More™", designed to promote healthy eating. Del Monte will be promoting the health benefits of their fruits, vegetables and StarKist tuna, and wanted to round out the picture by reminding consumers to eat whole grains. This summer, Del Monte will be giving away 50,000 Just One More Starter Kits including a pedometer, product samples and a healthy lifestyle booklet filled with information, recipes and coupons. The booklet will include WGC-created copy about the benefits of whole grains, and about the WG Stamp.

WGC members may include a coupon for their products in this booklet at NO COST.  Here's the deal:
** Coupons must be for at least $1 off (more is even better!)
** Space is limited, and coupons for a higher value will be given priority if all cannot be included.
** We need your commitment by Friday January 26.
** You are responsible for your own creative copy/art, which must be sent to Del Monte by the end of February.
The only costs to include a coupon are (a) your creative costs and (b) redeeming the coupons.  If you would like to include a sample, there will be a charge of $4,000.

Call or email Cynthia Harriman before January 26 (just one week from now!) if you'd like to reserve coupon space, and we'll connect you to our contacts at Del Monte.

WHOLE GRAIN TRENDS – PLEASE SHARE YOUR IDEAS
Would you like news from your company included in two major media opportunities? The WGC, represented by Cynthia Harriman, will be making two major presentations about whole grain product trends in early March, and we'd like to include information about any ground-breaking new products, processes or ingredients from your company.

The two presentations are:
1. A talk on "Trends in Whole Grain Baking" at the Healthy Baking Seminar (March 8) being held in conjunction with the Natural Products Expo West show in Anaheim
2. A webinar on "Whole Grains Benefits," produced by Food Product Design magazine.

Call or email Cynthia Harriman before February 9 (three weeks away!) with your information. We'd like to make sure these presentations include cutting edge specifics, and represent as many of our members as possible.

MORE ON EXPO WEST: DISCOUNT, SIGNS & CARDS, AND MEETING
*** Speaking of Expo West, you should already have received an invitation to the Healthy Baking Seminar, including the offer of a $50 discount we negotiated just for our members.  If for some reason you did not receive the discount invitation from Katie Smith at Penton Publications, and you would like one, please contact us.  
*** Remember, we have Whole Grain Stamp table signs and postcards, available free to WGC members for trade shows or any other marketing need.  Email us if you need these marketing materials for Expo West or any other occasion.
*** We are hoping to have an informal meet-and-greet get-together for WGC members at Expo West in Anaheim.  If you'll be exhibiting and would like to meet with other WGC members, drop us a line and we'll get back to you with specifics as the show draws nearer.

WHOLE GRAINS MONTH -- WHICH MONTH?
May is National Bicycle Month, June is Turtle Month, and in 1984 President Reagan designated July as Ice Cream Month.  Yet our research so far indicates that there is no "Whole Grains Month" -- a tragic oversight which the WGC aims to remedy.  But which month would be most appropriate and why? We welcome your input, after which we plan to designate an official Whole Grains Month, which will provide our members and their products with another good media opportunity.  Email us with your suggestions, and any information about existing grain months. (We know, for instance, that January is Oatmeal, September is Rice, October is Pasta (as well as pizza and popcorn) and November is Bread month.) Stay tuned for next month's e-newsletter, to learn which month will be National Whole Grains Month – and how you can benefit.

HEALTHY VENDING MACHINE OPPORTUNITY
As part of the WGC's efforts to get more whole grains into all the places where Americans eat, we've been chatting with vending machine companies.  First Class Vending, based in California, already offers WGC member products like Snyder's of Hanover pretzels, Quaker oatmeal bars, and Frito-Lay SunChips in their machines, but would like to add to their offerings of healthy whole grain products. Products must fit these criteria: 35% fat or less, 10% sat fat or less, 35% sugar or less, and 400mg sodium or less.  If you would like your products considered, send samples to Brian Levy, First Class Vending, 6875 Suva St., Bell Gardens, CA 90201 or call Brian at 310-435-5389.

"JUST ASK FOR WHOLE GRAINS" CONFERENCE UPDATE
Next week you should all receive an information packet about our November 5-7, 2007 conference in Kansas City. The packet outlines the benefits and costs of becoming a sponsor of our conference. It also includes a summary of 2006 Accomplishments of the WGC, and a guide to the many FREE promotional opportunities available through the Whole Grains Council. We hope all of you will plan on attending the conference, and that as many of you as possible will help support this event as sponsors. We're lining up a great array of speakers, cooking demos and media opportunities, so mark your calendar now.

Best regards from all of us at Oldways and the Whole Grains Council,
Cindy
------------------------
Cynthia Harriman
Director of Food and Nutrition Strategies
Oldways / The Whole Grains Council
603-436-1608 direct
617-896-4820 main office