Oxford Frozen Foods is singing the blues – Wild Blueberries that is! The company’s television commercials now being broadcast in Canada are gaining further exposure internationally via YouTube as well as a consumer food websites and social media.
The spots feature a smiling young lady in a supermarket praising attributes of “the little ones” (as in relatively small wild blueberries in comparison to larger cultivated berries) that have been frozen at the peak of their flavor and freshness and are “wildly better and bigger on taste and antioxidants.”
She goes on to direct a shopper to the freezer section of the store, where wild blueberries are available year ’round at attractive prices in comparison with fresh fruit.
Commenting on the TV commercial campaign to Amherst News Citizen-Record reporter Darrell Cole on March 20, Jordan Burkhardt of Oxford Frozen Foods said: “It’s something we’ve been talking about for a number of years, but this is the first time we’ve really tried something like this and the feedback we’ve been getting has been tremendous. We really don’t sell to the retail market. We’re a wholesaler, but the more it came up, the more we asked how do we move more blueberries and how do we create more awareness.”
Oxford, Nova Scotia-headquartered Oxford Frozen Foods is the world’s largest grower and processor of frozen wild blueberries, as well as Canada’s biggest producer of frozen carrots. As such, it has been in the forefront of making both industrial buyers and consumers aware that blueberries are naturally rich in phytonutrients which include antioxidants and anti-inflammatories. Ranked at the top of the anti-oxidant “A List,” wild blueberries are said to improve brain health, aid in cancer prevention, heart health, urinary tract health and vision health.
The creative advertising campaign has been well received by the Wild Blueberry Producers Association of Nova Scotia as well as provincial blueberry growers, who have seen prices drop following bumper harvests that have flooded the market. Any extra effort to further increase demand and sales, and hopefully improve returns for farmers, is appreciated in farming community.
Another big fan of the commercials is Oxford Mayor Trish Stewart, who told the Amherst News Citizen-Record: ““I am thrilled with the ads and the exposure it brings our little town, and to Oxford Frozen Foods. We are so fortunate to have a major employer in Oxford. It keeps our town running and it is something we don’t take for granted. It just goes to show you can have a successful corporation in rural Nova Scotia and make it work.”
