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"Smart Choices"– is it about marketing?

An article in the LA Times today talks about “Smart Choices”-labeled food products, and Marion Nestle, a very vocal critic about the whole thing, claims that “it’s all about marketing.”

I’m not sure I agree with her.  But what do you all think?

Never underestimate the power of word of mouth.

A quick anecdote on the power of word of mouth, aka, I don’t think the kracker is an actual doctor.

A few months back, while pregnant with my soon to come cousin, my aunt decided to go ahead and develop gestational diabetes.  While this in general is a pain in the ass (as she said, it “forces me to eat healthy but without any of the weight loss benefits”), it has had an unexpected effect on the sales of a certain gestational-diabetes-friendly product, Dr. Kracker’s Crackers.

Now, I don’t think that Dr. Kracker really exists, and if he does, he should change his name, because he’s a racist (and he might be related to uncle kracker, but I digress).  In any case, the Dr. Kracker story starts in the German plains, where he was inspired by their flatbreads and blah blah blah.  Net net, the crackers are made with whole grains and are diabetic-friendly.

In any case, my aunt brought these cookies to her own baby shower, much to the delight of all of her guests.  The krackers were instantly a hit.  I had a couple myself, and they are pretty good, but I have not actively sought them out.  The BG, on the other hand, is a different story.  She was so taken aback by these crackers that she began a crusade to find them.  After several failed attempts, she finally found them at a certain branch of the Whole Foods monolith.  She took them home to her apartment, where she co-habitates with her mother.Her mother was so overtaken by Kracker, MD, that she, too, became mildly obsessed with them.  To demonstrate the degree to which she has become entirely infatuated with these crackers—she eats around five different food items.  This is now one of them.  The Kracker has taken over exactly 20% of her normal food intake.  That is a brand manager’s wet dream.

And the chain continues—after finding the crakers, BG writes on my aunt’s facebook wall, “I found the Kracker!” not trying to be racially insensitive, of course.  A random girl responds to the BG, “I don’t even know you, but I love them, too!”

The kracker gets around.

And the chain continues—on a weekend trip to BG’s grandmother’s house, BG’s mom brings a box of the crackers.  Dr. Kracker comes in with his suave Doctor-game and sweeps BG-ma off her feet.  Game, set, match, Kracker.  She is obsessed with them now, too.  I saw her take out no fewer than 10 boxes from her traveling bag last night.  While visiting BG-ma’s house, BG’s aunt comes over and samples the dcotor’s goods.  What happens?  She hates them and spits out her first bite.

Just kidding.  She becomes obsessed, too.  Sensing a theme here?

I can only imagine that this is but one of many similar stories across the US.  Never underestimate the power of word of mouth.  It is a true marketing tool.