Newman’s Own bets on its purpose-driven heritage to engage millennials

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Years after Paul Newman’s death, the brand’s new CMO sees opportunity in amplifying its use of good ingredients and that profits go to charities.

Since its creation in 1982, Newman’s Own salad dressings, juices, sauces, cookies and pet food have been staples in the refrigerators and cupboards of baby boomers and Gen Xers, who grew up watching Hollywood star Paul Newman — also the brand’s co-founder — on the silver screen.

Almost two decades after Newman’s 2008 death, the brand’s new Chief Marketing Officer Mark Anthony Edmonson is focused on targeting a new generation of consumers who are less familiar with the actor’s work: millennials. To do so, Newman's Own is amplifying attributes like its promise to use good ingredients — connecting it to food trends like high protein and better-for-you — and that every year it gives 100% of its profits to charities that help children facing adversity.

Edmonson believes those messages will resonate with millennials, who are largely purpose-driven consumers, he said, citing a recently released report of millennial shopping statistics from CapitalOne Shopping. The report found 47% of millennials believe companies should take a stance on social issues, 59% recently purchased a product because a small business was selling it and 31% have stronger commitments to brands that align with their values.

“Millennials care about their communities, they care about their planet, and they want to build a stronger future for the future generations,” said Edmonson. “That's where Newman's Own fits so well into their lives.”

Successfully engaging millennials could be tough, given Edmonson considers Newman’s Own a challenger brand in crowded CPG categories where some companies have significantly larger marketing budgets. To accomplish its goals, the brand is relying on renewed social media efforts, retail marketing and fresh packaging to drive home its message.

“My goal and my objective over the next year is to ensure that we're becoming more culturally relevant with this millennial consumer,” he said Edmonson. “Relevancy is helping them understand our unique value in their lives.”

That value includes how Newman’s Own has built purpose into its business over decades, unlike some larger companies that typically donate a small percentage of their budget to a particular purpose every so often, Edmonson said.

Over the years, the company, which is owned by the brand’s namesake foundation , has given more than $600 million to charities. Last year, the foundation’s money was used to boost nutrition education and school food, teach indigenous children how to grow, gather and cook Native foods and support camps that are inclusive to kids facing various medical challenges, among other contributions.

Nostalgia could be Newman’s Own’s winning secret ingredient. Many millennials recognize the brand because their parents had its products in their house growing up, said Edmonson. That recognition could help earn the trust of a generation that is gravitating toward nostalgia for its youth.

In return, a stronger relationship with millennials will enable Newman’s Own to connect with their children, the next generation of consumers.

Given the competitive categories it competes in, the brand needs to be “scrappy” in the way it delivers its philanthropic message and tries to win over that demographic,  said Edmonson.

One way Newman’s Own hopes to break through is by meeting the needs of millennials who cook from home and experiment with different globally-inspired flavors with the introduction of a new line of sweet and spicy-flavored sauces and salad dressings .

Another goal is showing how its products fit into the trending functional benefit space that’s rich in antioxidants, immunity, protein and electrolytes.

The brand’s packaging was recently revamped to better telegraph its positioning to millennials. Pizza boxes now include protein callouts while the old taglines – “100% of profits to charity” and “We give it all away” – have been replaced with “Great Ingredients. Greater purpose,” as well as “100% of profits help kids in need.”

The intent of the refresh is to give those less familiar with Paul Newman and the brand a better sense of how the company is different. For a demographic like millennials that often does not trust a lot of big CPGs, according to Edmonson, the old tagline raised a lot of questions: Do all the profits really go to charities? How does the money actually help?

So far, the new packaging has been rolled out for pizzas, dressings and beverages, with the company planning to refresh the rest of its portfolio in Q4 or Q1 of next year.

Over the past few months, the brand has been working to communicate its mission through retail media activations at Walmart, Target, Chewy, Amazon and Kroger, including sponsored search ads and displays, said Edmonson.

The company in April, for example, released smaller and more affordable salad dressing bottles with new flavors at Walmart, which were boosted on the retail giant’s displays and website searches. The company also promoted the offer on social media, with a content creator talking about the collaboration, the product and Newman’s Own’s charitable contributions, while making a salad.

The initiative earned a $3.50 return for every $1 of ad spend, a 49% conversion rate, a 43% digital penetration and a new-to-brand rate of 70%, the company stated.

The brand also changed its social media strategy in May by veering away from larger creators who used scripted messages in videos that sounded “descriptive.” The goal is to produce content that seems more authentic by looking to creators who share the company’s values and believe in its story and can amplify it with their audience, per Edmonson.

The brand recently worked with a content creator on TikTok who made a protein-rich ice cream using Hint-O-Mint Newman-O’s cookies. It also tapped into the viral TikTok trend around dot cakes — the sprinkle-topped desserts — by partnering with a Connecticut bakery.

The company helped the bakery develop a recipe that topped one of its popular Cake Cups with Newman-O’s Cookies, which served as dots. A video showcased the cake , describing it as the brand’s “sweetest collaboration yet,” telling the story of Newman’s Own’s mission and Connecticut roots in the comments.

Newman’s Own social channels last month jumped on the “That’s my why” trend, where people shared their deep underlying motivations for moving forward.

“Paul Newman didn’t just start a food brand…” the TikTok post read to a moving reel of photos featuring the actor set to the sound of the trend’s instrumental song.

“He started a brand built to give back,” the post continued. “100% of our profits help kids in need. And that’s our why.”

The post received nearly 20,000 likes, 377 comments, 331 shares and around 900 new followers, the company stated in an email.

The success of that post shows the potential of Newman’s Own mission with younger consumers, per Edmonson.

“We can truly begin talking more about the foundation’s efforts, our mission, our purpose, and allow that to become our hero,” he said.

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The cohort’s reliance on social media and influencers for product discovery remains, while new levels of comfort with retail media and AI take shape.