Cause Marketing - Beecher's Flagship Foundation

Sugar Mountain, parent company of local food favorites Beecher’s Cheese, Pasta & Co, Maximus Minimus and Bennett’s Bistro has taken cause marketing to a new level. Rather than simply partnering with or supporting charitable organizations, they have created their own nonprofit arm, The Flagship Foundation. The Flagship Foundation’s mission is to “Change the Way America Eats” by educating consumers, primarily kids, about the importance of knowing what’s in your food and where it comes from. This mission correlates nicely with Sugar Mountain’s “Pure Food Commitment” to serve only wholesome foods devoid of artificial additives or preservatives but full of flavor, all the while demonstrating to consumers that this is both a healthy and delicious way to eat.

Each Sugar Mountain company devotes 1% of all sales to The Flagship Foundation. This fact is not a secret – you’ll see it printed all over their website, social media and product packaging. In addition, they have created a promotional video and have generated some positive PR. What I like about the relationship between Sugar Mountain companies and the Flagship Foundation is that, while the relationship is transparent, it is not a blatant appeal to get you to spend more of your money on their products. They are doing this because it’s something they are passionate about. The foundation’s goals serve to cement the mission of the for profit company. 

In this case, doing the right thing seems to make good business sense. The Flagship Foundation’s primary activity is educating 4^th and 5^th grade students, current household influencers and future decision makers, about how to read food labels and the basics of a healthy diet, along with a hands-on cooking lesson. Presumably, after this lesson these “Pure Food Kids” are better informed about how to make healthy food decisions, and their parents, I’m sure, are happy to have some help in teaching this lesson. And perhaps, next time they’re at the cheese counter they’ll be more willing to pay a bit more for the Beecher’s cheese, knowing that this their purchase will help in educating even more children about the importance of healthy, pure eating.