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From air to rail: Kate’s Real Food finds opportunity to expand across travel channel

22-Apr-2024 - Last updated on 22-Apr-2024 at 20:55 GMT

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Founded in 2010 by Kate Schade, Kate’s Real Food offers a range of plant-based snack bars made with whole food ingredients that are minimally processed, Jimmy Christensen, senior VP of sales at Kate's Real Food, told FoodNavigator-USA. Since its launch, the brand’s distribution has grown from 400 stores to more than 13,000 stores nationwide, he added. 

‘The best whitespace’ is in the travel channel 

In growing its retail distribution,  Kate’s Real Food ​ found that “the best whitespace” is in the travel channel, Christensen said. 

In 2022, Kate’s Real Food was one of several brands selected for Delta Air Lines' onboard menu refresh, which focused on better-for-you and more diverse food and beverage options for travel. This partnership paved the way for its partnership with Amtrak. 

“We are going to be on [Amtrak] trains, offering our 1.1oz, white-chocolate macadamia bar, which is what has been featured on Delta for some time now. [Amtrak] is just another one of those unique avenues. They actually reached out to us after finding us on Delta, so this is the web of exposure that you get from a partnership like that.” 

While  brands like Whoa Dough ​ and  RIND have found success in the travel channel ​, Christensen explained that many smaller brands have a hard time breaking into the channel, including both airlines and airport stores, because of the scale and fierce competition to secure shelf space — or cart space in the case of Delta. 

Kate’s Real Food expands portfolio with focus on enhanced protein

Last month, Kate’s Real Food expanded its portfolio of snack bars with an organic protein bar line, available in Peanut Butter Cup, Peanut Butter Brownie and Snickerdoodle varieties. The new line is currently available on the brand's website, and Kate's Real Food plans to expand it into retailers like Whole Foods, Sprouts, Kroger, Wegmans, and other retailers in the future. 

The protein bars contain 14 to 15 grams of plant-based protein — through a combination of pea protein powder and pea protein crisps — and are non-GMO, gluten-free, and sweetened with True Source Certified honey, which ensures the honey is not adulterated, Christensen noted. 

“We wanted to stick to the highest quality as we always have, but in my eyes, it is Kate bar 2.0. It is still only sweetened with honey, it is still real whole food ingredients, [and] it still has an exceptional taste and texture experience because we do not powder and extrude everything. You get the added benefit of getting a little more protein in your diet.” 

Kate’s Real Food balances quality, pricing to grow the organic market ​

Beyond expanding its portfolio and distribution, Kate’s Real Food is balancing the need for healthy and nutritious foods and creating an accessible product for consumers at a time when many shoppers are still watching their grocery budgets, he explained. 

“One of the biggest struggles, especially since the pandemic ... is the cost issue. A lot of people will say they care about additives, they care about organic. But when they go to the grocery store, they see ... an organic item is $7.99 and a non-organic is $4.99 or even cheaper. They are trying to feed their families, which is something that we really have to be cognizant of.” 

He added, “Our bars are a premium-priced item, and we acknowledge that, but we are not willing to jeopardize people's health and the quality of our ingredients to make it work. So, we are going to stick with organic.”

Kate’s Real Food is managing to keep its costs in line through a partnership with Organic Snack Company, which is the exclusive manufacturer of its product, Christensen said. 

"We do have our own vertically integrated production facility in western Pennsylvania, and that in itself has been an absolute game changer," he said. "It allowed us to maintain a lot of control. We also have eyes on the product literally from sourcing the ingredients to the product out the door ... That is more and more important because quality control is one of the hardest things to deal with as you scale," he added. 

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Santa Maria pedestrians and drivers can expect travel delays until July during citywide safety and accessibility improvements

SANTA MARIA, Calif. – The City of Santa Maria announced Tuesday that pedestrians and drivers can expect travel delays until July during citywide safety and accessibility improvements.

The City provided more information in the following press release:

Citywide Pedestrian Safety and Accessibility Improvements Drivers and pedestrians are advised that temporary delays may occur during the daytime throughout the City of Santa Maria - from the end of April through July - during concrete construction designed to improve pedestrian safety and accessibility. This will affect students and their routes to school, along with transit and their bus stops. Work will begin on Foster Road and will continuously move northbound to address all locations included in this project. The contractor will post construction notices to residents and businesses along affected areas with the dates, informing when parking and access to streets will be prohibited. It is recommended to use alternate routes when possible if traveling between the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. through work zones. Improvements include replacement of sidewalks, curbs and gutters, curb ramps, and concrete at bus stops. This project also consists of crosswalk improvements at low-visibility and mid-block locations, including striping, signage, and ADA pedestrian ramp improvements. The City has contracted V. Lopez Jr. & Sons, Inc. to perform this work funded by Measure A, Gas Tax, and SB-1 Gas Tax dollars. Having a safe, well-maintained pedestrian safety and accessibility infrastructure network is a top priority for the City, which knows how important it is to our residents and infrastructure. As one of its Smart City, Safe City tools, the Department of Public Works diligently tracks the condition of sidewalk and ADA ramp infrastructure, etc. to assess the condition of the pedestrian safety and accessibility infrastructure network. Based on available funds, including tax revenue from gas purchases, staff conducts annual assessments and develop concrete sidewalk improvement projects. Questions may be directed to the Department of Public Works, Engineering Division at (805) 925-0951 extension 2225.

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Innovative Travel Marketing Channels

After you’ve built the core of your marketing strategy with authentic organic content, SEO, and social postings, there are some additional channels you can leverage to promote your brand, build leads and grow revenue.

In fact, the great content we’ll create is amplified significantly through them. These channels discussed below open your business up to a targeted group of travel prospects, bloggers/influencers, and brand boosters.

Get Your Marketing Content Ready First

Travel companies are already spending massive amounts of money in these channels, however when your content is low quality, you have to spend extra to get the sales results you want.  Before you pull out your wallet and spend big, your brand boosting content needs to be ready. You can’t spend hard on paid channels if your content and brand are awful. Spend first on creating authentic, helpful, engaging and impactful content because this is what is used in paid channels such as YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and others.

These elite paid channels can inspire your marketing and help you commit more to the power of travel marketing services . to get exceptional sales results.  My position on them is that they are a powerful layer on top of your foundational layer of authentic, engaging content and search engine optimization .  As an extra reward for you, they can boost your SEO, content and social media performance.

From greater reach to branding to richer promotions , today’s paid channels are essential to travel business growth and big revenue gains.

Insider Intelligence estimates digital travel sales revenues should increase 20% to $296.77 billion, up from $208.44 billion in 2019. And expenditures may climb above $350 billion by the end of 2027. They forecasted $4.57 billion growth in 2024 on advertising. Those ads will appear on desktop and laptop computers, as well as mobile phones, tablets and other internet-connected devices. They will appear as contextual text links, interstitial ads, paid inclusions, paid listings, and search engine optimization.

If your effort in this paid advertising arena isn’t strategic, you could waste a fortune.

You could rely on your travel management software platform to achieve your marketing and promotion goals. The best approach is with a customized, comprehensive program that supercharges your organic strategy (which is timeless and cost-effective).

Augmented Paid Marketing Channels

Connected tv.

Connected TV (CTV) advertising uses video ads delivered through internet-connected smart television sets, laptops, smartphones and other smart devices (airports, subways, transit, malls, restaurants). Given the rising use of digital streaming entertainment services such as Apple TV, Roku, Hulu, Peacock, Tubi, Pluto TV, and even some ad-supported tiers of Netflix and Disney+, travel companies can reach more travelers who are actively immersed in travel content.

Augmenting CTV with your organic SEO/Content/Social strategy lets you get more impressions and access a more visual medium where prospects are in a different mood, and could be more open to your value proposition and travel experiences. CTV advertising reaches those who have disconnected from satellite or Cable TV, and given it’s a digital channel, it offers much better targeting than broadcast TV.

TV is still an engaging format and many travelers watch YouTube on their televisions. Any format that connects to those viewers is gaining a special opportunity ahead of competitors. Find out more about connected TV campaigns at Simulmedia.com )

Mobile App Marketing

Developing a mobile app is a popular way to connect directly to your audience on their smartphone, a powerful place to be for travel agencies and tour management companies .

Not having a customer mobile app allows your competitors to get their app placed on their smartphone which in turn increases their bookings and makes your company invisible. It’s expensive but having a white-label solution from the major platforms is a great way to ensure you’ve created a presence on traveler’s smartphones. For them, they’re quick, updated, reliable and communications are direct — no email, phone calls or SMS messages needed. Check out the full features of the best travel management software.

You could decide to rely on Expedia’s mobile app, or Travefy’s, Hotels.com’s, TravelPerk, Routespring, Travelworks, Booking.com, VRBO, or ViaTour, etc.

See Moonstride’s or Travefy’s traveler itinerary mobile apps. The functionality on the mobile apps is limited, but then most travelers do prefer to manage bookings via their desktop or laptop computers.

The mobile apps offer a travel companion to help inform or reassure them while traveling, a great time to promote your brand and services overall. Customers can be offered upgrades and be transported to the web-based interface to buy.

So a mobile app doesn’t need to do everything a traveler might need. Instead, it’s a branded companion — dedicated to fulfilling your customer services and marketing communications needs.

SMS Text Marketing

On the important theme of connecting via the ubiquitous consumer smartphone is using it’s SMS text app. Texting seems intrusive, yet there are many who are okay about engaging with your brand and accepting marketing offers on it.

You can manage text messages via your travel management software. Texting solutions can determine the geolocation of the customer and help you send the most relevant and timely ads.

Stats show a third of smartphone users read their text messages within five minutes of recdving them and SMS generates a 40+% response rate. 90+% of people clam they would opt-in to receive SMS messages from their favorite brands.

YouTube Advertising

According to Hannah Macready of HootSuite, YouTube enjoys 106 billion annual visits, 2 Billion users and collects about $10 billion in revenues annually.

While travel agencies, tour operators and travel software companies can advertise directly with YouTube, the channel offers tens of thousands of travel-related sites and influencers. It’s the nature of YouTube’s search and content presentation algorithm that a core set of travel channels get the most exposure. Creating and promoting your own YouTube channel with compelling videos can still capture quite a vast global audience. And given the possibility of going viral on the channel exists, big successes are possible for any creator.

YouTube creators must build content that is impactful, engaging and useful and it is a visual and animated medium requiring some skill in video production. Advertisers can access some analytics insights into their users viewing habits and whether they liked the video.

You can get quite creative with video too, having influencers or your marketing specialist create a video just for your business, including music travel videos which are very popular.

DMO Partnerships

Destination business parterships can be a powerful asset in your travel marketing strategy. They can strengthen your value proposition and open doors to new benefits.

Being seen, associated with, and promoted by a credible local business in the countries/cities you operate in brings greater credibility and trust to customer prospects.

Partnering/sponsorships with local tourism boards, hotels, venues, travel influencers, tour operators, and so on can give you an edge over other agencies or tour companies. It signals a real, actual presence in that country with real local and respected members of their travel and tourism community.

These organizations can provide you with video, photos, interviews, comments, testimonials, traveler tips and insights, and perhaps travel deal packages that include your products. All of these benefits give your company a lift in relevance, credibility, trustworthiness , and an emotional level connection to the destinations your customers want to travel to. You might call this business development and these companies will want to associate with agencies/companies that have a strong, clear, credible brand with a good, proven audience.

And newer travel management software platforms have such supplier/partner connectivity built in, allowing you access to some active and successful businesses. Of course, actually visiting the country (e.g., costa rica or Italy) allows you to find and negotiate with many local businesses, and even some who aren’t looking for commissions or fees!

Once you have your digital marketing empire set up, which best-supporting partners to pursue becomes a little clearer and it’s easier to arrange deals.

Influencer Partnerships

It’s a fact that some individual travel enthusiasts, YouTube/Instagram/TikTok/Facebook personalities, and others have generated quite a throng of devoted followers.

It seems they’ve connected with their travel network in a way that’s excited, impacted and engaged them so well, or with such frequency that they’re a going concern. In fact, it might be wise to create this kind of influential personality yourself to drive leads just to your business.

While there are thousands of influencers out there, you will need one that fits your business brand and travel package array. They’ll want a lot of money, but in studying these influencers, you may learn the secrets of their success. Initially, they can generate a good level of exposure to their defined audience. You’ll want to ensure (let them present detailed stats) they have the right audience, otherwise you might waste a lot of money (which many companies are).

Influencers are heard, often respected, and have a high level of repeat visitors, and those connections often want good, interesting content to share with their social channels. That paints a picture of marketing bliss for those with the assets to share.

There are macroinfluencers (most popular in views/connections) and microinfluencers (less popular but perhaps more well-targeted for your goals). A well-known travel macroinfluencer is Brian Kelly the Points Guy in the Cruises category. Traveling Robert who is well known for his RV travels across North America, Rick Steeves, still popular on YouTube, and Malini Angelica who specializes in warm weather destinations.

Check out Grin.co for creator partnerships and Aspire for its travel influencer marketplace.

Boost Your Fantastic, Authentic Content

Whatever fantastic content you might develop, it’s got a place in these paid digital marketing channels.

If you’re struggling with your free, organic marketing, it’s not surprising as the monopolies are squeezing sites out.  And with the glut of generative AI spam deluging Google, Bing, Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, and YouTube, it’s tougher now.

Focus on researching and producing valuable content for audiences in articles, videos, and graphics, establishing your brand messaging clearly, and then using paid media to reach all these targeted users we discussed above.

Find out more about the full offerings of travel management software platforms, and use my travel marketing services to the fullest for growth and higher revenues.

Airlines will be forced to issue cash refunds for cancellations, "significant" delays under new DOT rule

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - The Department of Transportation announced Wednesday airlines will be required to issue automatic cash refunds for cancelled flights.

“This is a big day for America’s flying public,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said.

Buttigieg said at a press conference, in theory, airline customers are owed a refund for a cancelled or significantly delayed flight.

“In practice, it often doesn’t work that way. We here again and again from passengers who describe how hard they have to push, just to get the refunds that are owed to them.”

The new rule, is an airline must refund payment to the card that paid for the flight within 7 days, without requiring any action from the passenger.

The refund must be made to whatever payment was used and cannot be paid in miles or points unless the passenger requests that.

The rule applies to flights that are cancelled, domestic flights delayed at least three hours and international flights delayed at least six hours.

“The biggest expansion of passenger rights in the department’s history,” Buttigieg said.

The DOT believes the new rule will prevent some refunds from falling through the cracks, leading to a stronger financial incentive for airlines to avoid delays and cancellations.

The new rules also require price transparency, forcing airlines to disclose baggage, change and cancelation fees up front. Those fees must also be shared with third parties.

“Healthy competition requires that as a consumer, you comparison shop, which means knowing the real price of a trip before, and not after, you buy,” Buttigieg said.

The refund rule will take effect in six months. The fee transparency rules will begin being phased in in six months. Buttigieg said he is confident the new rules will hold up in court against any potential legal action from airlines.

Copyright 2024 Gray DC. All rights reserved.

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Good Samaritans pull driver out of car engulfed in flames

ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) - A group of good Samaritans rushing to help was caught on camera in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Dashcam footage shows bystanders racing to rescue the driver of a car after a fiery crash Monday morning.

Dramatic video from Kadir Tolla’s Tesla camera captures the frantic moment drivers run to help save a man trapped inside his car engulfed in flames.

“That was the craziest moment of my life,” Tolla said.

With the guard rail in the way, Tolla and the group of good Samaritans desperately tried to pry the doors open and break the window.

“The worst thing that could have happened was I could probably get burned a little or get injured, but that man could literally lose his life,” Tolla said.

It wasn’t until a driver with the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s Freeway Incident Response Safety Team showed up with a tool that could shatter the glass that they were able to pull the driver to safety with just seconds to spare.

“Get him out. It was the only thing going through my head,” Dave Klepaida, the Minnesota Department of Transportation FIRST driver, said.

Klepaida just happened to be patrolling the area.

“To me, it’s just doing my job,” Klepaida said.

It was a good showing of humanity as everyone worked together to get the driver out.

“Everyone stepped up and just did it. It wasn’t training; it was just being in the right place at the right time,” Klepaida said.

He credited a tool, known as window punch, that Minnesota Department of Transportation FIRST drivers keep on their key chains and in their trucks.

“Basically, the black end goes up against the car window, and that little punch comes out and breaks the window,” Klepaida said.

Sam Orbovich, the driver they saved, said he only had minor injuries.

“It was incredibly heroic,” Orbovich said in a statement. “Fred Rogers used to say that whenever someone sees something scary, look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”

Klepaida said it is “nice to know he’s doing OK” after being shown Orbovich’s statement.

In his 10 years as a Minnesota Department of Transportation FIRST driver, Klepaida says this rescue is one he’ll never forget.

“I love this job. I do. We’re out there just helping people ... get on their way,” Klepaida said.

Orbovich said he is also looking forward to thanking them all in person.

Copyright 2024 WCCO via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved.

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John Deere Will Pay Up to $192K for a 'Chief Tractor Officer' to Travel and Help Launch TikTok Channel One winning applicant will traverse the country over the next several months.

By Dominick Reuter • Apr 17, 2024

Key Takeaways

• John Deere is looking for a different kind of CTO — a Chief Tractor Officer.
• The winner of the competition will help launch the agriculture equipment company's new TikTok channel.
• Entries are accepted until April 29, with the finalists selected after May 17.

This article originally appeared on Business Insider .

Agriculture equipment company John Deere is on the hunt for a different kind of CTO.

The brand on Tuesday announced a two-week search to find a "Chief Tractor Officer" who would create social media content to reach younger consumers .

One winning applicant will receive up to $192,300 to traverse the country over the next several months showcasing the way John Deere products are used by workers, from Yellowstone National Park to Chicago's Wrigley Field and beyond.

"No matter what you do — whether it's your coffee, getting dressed in the morning, driving to work, the building you go into — it's all been touched by a construction worker, a farmer, or a lawn care maintenance group," Jen Hartmann, John Deere's global director of strategic public relations, told AdAge .

To kick off the search, John Deere tapped NFL quarterback Brock Purdy (who will presumably be a bit busy this Fall to take the job himself) to star in a clip in which he attempts to set out on a road trip in an industrial tractor.

Suited up in the obligatory vest, work boots, and John Deere hat, Purdy's progress is interrupted by teammate Colton McKivitz hopping into the cab while a string of messages floods in from other athletes and influencers expressing interest in the job.

The clip also represents the first time that the 187-year-old company has used celebrities to promote itself, Hartmann told AdAge.

According to the contest rules , entrants have until April 29 at midnight to submit a single 60-second video making their pitch for why they should be the face and voice of the company.

In addition, entrants must live in the 48 contiguous states or DC — sorry Hawaii and Alaska residents. Interestingly, any AI-generated submissions are prohibited, too.

Videos will be judged against four categories — originally, creativity, quality, and brand knowledge — after which five finalists will be chosen and notified after May 17.

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Successfully copied link

John Deere will pay up to $192K for a 'Chief Tractor Officer' to travel and help launch TikTok channel

• John Deere is looking for a different kind of CTO — a Chief Tractor Officer.
• The winner of the competition will help launch the agriculture equipment company's new TikTok channel.
• Entries are accepted until April 29, with the finalists selected after May 17.

Agriculture equipment company John Deere is on the hunt for a different kid of CTO.

The brand on Tuesday announced a two-week search to find a "Chief Tractor Officer" who would create social media content to reach younger consumers .

One winning applicant will receive up to $192,300 to traverse the country over the next several months showcasing the way John Deere products are used by workers, from Yellowstone National Park to Chicago's Wrigley Field and beyond.

Related stories

"No matter what you do — whether it's your coffee, getting dressed in the morning, driving to work, the building you go into — it's all been touched by a construction worker, a farmer, or a lawn care maintenance group," Jen Hartmann, John Deere's global director of strategic public relations, told AdAge .

To kick off the search, John Deere tapped NFL quarterback Brock Purdy (who will presumably be a bit busy this Fall to take the job himself) to star in a clip in which he attempts to set out on a road trip in an industrial tractor.

Suited up in the obligatory vest, work boots, and John Deere hat, Purdy's progress is interrupted by teammate Colton McKivitz hopping into the cab while a string of messages floods in from other athletes and influencers expressing interest in the job.

The clip also represents the first time that the 187-year-old company has used celebrities to promote itself, Hartmann told AdAge.

According to the contest rules , entrants have until April 29 at midnight to submit a single 60-second video making their pitch for why they should be the face and voice of the company.

In addition, entrants must live in the 48 contiguous states or DC — sorry Hawaii and Alaska residents. Interestingly, any AI-generated submissions are prohibited, too.

Videos will be judged against four categories — originally, creativity, quality, and brand knowledge — after which five finalists will be chosen and notified after May 17.

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