Astavita uses tube to educate consumers
to television viewers and consumers at large through a one-year
sponsorship deal with TV series Christina Cooks.
The move will not only promote the New Jersey-based company's branded ingredient, but will also plug the benefits of supplementation in general. Christina Cooks is a national healthy cooking program that draws up to seven million viewers monthly and features chef Christina Pirello. Launched in 1997, the healthy cooking show airs on the PBS and CN8 TV networks. The marketing tactic is novel for ingredients manufacturers and reveals a growing trend to build awareness for proprietary functional ingredients brands by communicating directly to the consumer. "Although the core of Christina's philosophy is to cook fresh food for optimal health, she claims that our soils do not contain the nutrients they did years ago and therefore cannot provide all that the body needs from the vegetation that grows in it," Astavita's director of marketing Dianne Holland told NutraIngredients-USA. "She now values the importance of supplementation as much as she values good food and cooking, and this is why she will be promoting AstaReal." According to Astavita, Pirello will integrate AstaReal into her healthy cooking program by discussing the importance of supplementation throughout her show. As part of the deal, Astavita will also air weekly commercial spots for its product line on both the CN8 and PBS national programs. Pirello will also feature interviews with Astavita spokespersons on her program. This is not the only the sponsoring initiative Astavita has undertaken this year. The company has also signed agreements with USA Triathlon as well as professional triathlete Desiree Ficker.
