Camp Walnut

Strategically Expanding Foodservice Menu Presence
Via an Immersive Brand Building Experience.

Foodservice pros go to camp to explore the use of walnuts in creative menu applications.

Marketing to the foodservice trade is a vital aspect of every food brand’s overall marketing strategy. We are experts at approaching, engaging and inspiring foodservice professionals to incorporate brands into their menus and LTOs. But what could have been simply a fun, food focused holiday becomes so much more when infused with the true essence of the brand itself.

Camp Walnut was a unique combination of innovative Foodservice PR and Relationship Marketing.

Camp Walnut Yellow Team Food Marketing

The great outdoors inspire great menu ideas.

“Camp Walnut” was an unforgettable 3-day Chef Summit and Culinary Camping Experience held in an inspiring grove of redwood trees at the kitschy, but luxurious, AutoCamp Russian River in Sonoma, CA. Completely rebranded as “Camp Walnut”, thirteen VIP chefs and two foodservice media members were specially invited to glamp in the great outdoors and experience the versatility of California Walnuts while developing exciting new recipes and products.

Camp Walnut Collage Public Relations Event
Camp Walnut Instagram Story 2018

Meeting real world influencers inspired campers with real world understanding.

Campers, who hailed from organizations including Sizzler, Whole Foods, Nordstrom and the University of Southern California, participated in a walnut harvest at Cilker Orchards. Interacting with people to whom walnuts are both their livelihood and their passion, they received a crash course on walnuts topics ranging from health benefits to plant-based eating trends to the unique place California Walnuts holds in the culinary universe. A professional photographer was on hand to document the event for daily #CampWalnut coverage on Instagram Stories, Facebook, and Twitter, utilizing each platform’s interactive features. Chefs and media also gave the event shout outs and rave reviews on their own social media sites.

A Bigger Picture Program Delivers Immediate and Lasting Results.

California Walnuts are more than just a classic ingredient. They are part of a broader, more contemporary way of living based on simple, natural goodness. Camp Walnut creatively embodied that lifestyle and memorably demonstrated to participants how walnuts could make a valuable and long lasting contribution to their menu and business by delivering a lifestyle-based message to their customers.

Creating Foodservice News, Goodwill and Direct Results

  • Sizzler launch of California Walnut Brussels Sprout Salad LTO
  • 7,777 IG Story Impressions
  • Velvet Taco launch of California Walnut
    Taco LTO
  • 91% positive sentiment across social media
  • School Nutrition Plus launches Walnut Chorizo Breakfast Burrito
  • Over 1.3 mm social impressions

And California Walnuts can look forward to more continued, long term results as a result of the consistent branding, timely messaging and community building created during this immersive event.