“If Your Sunflower Butter Doesn’t Say SunButter®, It Isn’t”
Fargo, North Dakota (August 3, 2016). As the leading peanut free spread in both homes and schools, and the dominant brand of sunflower butter, many consumers have come to think that all sunflower butter is SunButter®. To ensure schools that want to serve SunButter® know to order the brand by name, the company is launching a marketing and branding campaign explaining what makes SunButter® the market leader and why schools should specify it by name when ordering sunflower butter.
Currently, SunButter® is menued in over 12,000 U.S. schools and that number has grown dramatically in the last 10 years, as over 60% of U.S. schools now restrict or prohibit peanut products and peanut butter. To help schools manage the transition from peanut butter to SunButter®, the brand has created a complete school foodservice toolkit that includes a How To Introduce & Test SunButter® video, a Farm To Table food safety video, a School Foodservice Recipe Book, posters, stickers, and other materials to make sure menuing SunButter® is easy and successful.
When asked why SunButter® was launching this campaign, Justin LaGosh, SunButter®’s Director of Sales and Marketing said, “It was inevitable that our success would attract competition, which we embrace. We felt it was important to let our school customers, in particular, know that if it doesn’t say SunButter® it isn’t. We hold our brand to the highest standard of allergen control, good manufacturing practices, and complete control of our process from the planting seed grown in U.S. soil to the SunButter® served to kids in school and families at home.”
LaGosh went on to explain, “We know schools are very concerned with food safety, and that is why we control our sunflower seed from farm to table, and have ALWAYS produced SunButter® in a facility free from peanuts & tree-nuts. Our process can guarantee that SunButter® is free from the top 8 allergens because our facility is free from them. We would urge schools considering using sunflower butter to make sure they carefully consider the manufacturer and their process. Since so many people think all sunflower butter is SunButter®, we feel it is important to tell them there is a real difference and if they want to serve SunButter®, they need to specify it, or they may get sunflower butter from another manufacturer. Also, historically, SunButter® has been the manufacturer to the USDA Foods Program, but we are not currently supplying this program. We want schools that participate in that program to know that if they still want to get SunButter®, they can get it commercially by contacting us at 877-873-4501 and visiting us at www.SunButterFoodService.com .”
About SunButter®
SunButter®, produced by Red River Commodities in Fargo, ND since 2001, is the largest producer of sunflower butter in the world. SunButter® is produced in a facility free from the top 8 food allergens. Learn more at www.SunButterFoodService.com or call 1-800-873-4501.
Media Contact:
Hanna Knutson
The Zimmerman Group
(952) 470-8830 ext. 136
Support@SunButter.com
