The motivation for truLOCAL to enter the promotional products and corporate gifts industry was simple. Provide a better answer to the popular customer question, “What’s new?”
For Greg Quaile, co-founder of truLOCAL, the exciting difference is in the gift experience.
marketingedge magazine
HOME GROWN, a brand story
BY JOSHUA PAXTON
August 2022
COVER IMAGE
Mark Wingrove (left) joined Greg Quaile (right) and the truLOCAL team to expand business services by enhancing corporate gift opportunities. Today, truLOCAL offers incentive and reward programs a unique opportunity to support local farms and businesses across Canada, connecting customers with local made-in-Canada sources.
Beginning as a better way to connect urban centres with farm-to-table delivery, truLOCAL has grown across Canada and created a network of Canadian farmers that provide high-end, locally sourced protein products to your door.
“It was 2016 when we first started, and people were just getting comfortable with the idea of receiving food in the mail. The service today allows you to visit truLOCAL.ca, see the farmers that you’re buying from and choose the quality products – beef, pork, poultry, fish – to build a box of goods that’s perfect for your family, without having to set foot on a farm.”
As a promotional product, truLOCAL deliveries are expected to meet the needs of many corporate values in addition to delivering a fresh and exciting gift experience.
FARM TO TABLE, A QUALITY DIFFERENCE YOU WILL TASTE
truLOCAL has high-standards to ensure that customers feel good about what they are putting on the table and in their bodies. Top farmers and suppliers in Canada provide products such as 100 per cent grass-fed beef, pasture-raised chicken and wild-caught fish. The result is protein of the highest quality, and a difference you will taste.
“For a lot of consumers, shopping local has become a huge motivator. Through our network, your truLOCAL box of goods is going to be sourced from farmers local to your region. We have farms right now in Alberta, Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec. And we’re growing. If you’re an organization with branch offices or teams scattered across Canada, a truLOCAL corporate gift allows you to share a consistent gift experience while supporting each unique Canadian community.”
Greg shared a hot tip about frozen protein that not everyone will know. "The meat you get at your grocer is not meant to be frozen in your freezer. When you do that, the meat freezes from the outside-in, and ice crystals destroy the fibres in your meat. You also lose a lot of juices (flavour) when you thaw that out later. Our products are vacuum sealed and flash frozen. You’ll find our products thaw much faster, with far less runny mess and you’ll notice the difference in flavour.”
By shopping local with truLOCAL you reduce the amount of travel time, resulting in a decrease in the carbon footprint. truLOCAL also uses as much recyclable material as possible in their packaging, choosing innovative corrugated solutions over traditional Styrofoam coolers.
IMPRESSING A DRAGON
truLOCAL (YouTube) What attracted Michele Romanow of CBC's Dragon's Den to partner with truLOCAL? Understanding that there is a growing consumer demand to connect with our food. Today's consumers want to support local, and know where they food comes from, how it was processed and how it was delivered.
“Our values for sustainable practice, top quality proteins, the ethical treatment of animals, supporting local business, I think really align with a number of modern brand values. There’s lots of opportunity to reward customers and employees with a custom box of goods, or organize a virtual event and send everyone in the conference an organized dinner in a box.”
Part of the truLOCAL expansion into premiums and incentives has been opening up their operation to work with creative agencies to add new and additional items to their retail mix of protein products and bringing on Mark Wingrove to help lead the charge.
“We’re happy to work with corporate partners to create a unique experience for their clients. We’ve had projects where we’ve included a bottle of wine, barbecue tools, kitchen tools, spices and sauces, etc. We’ve also worked with partners to include personalized print products like recipes and thank you cards. We have the ability to deliver a very engaging and unique gift experience. Mark has really helped set us up for success working really closely with distributors to curate the best boxes possible.”
CREATING A UNIQUE GIFT EXPERIENCE
The team at truLOCAL encourage corporate inquiry and are excited to share their ideas for how to help create a memorable and premium gift experience. Past campaigns have included partnerships with Canadian suppliers of decorated serving accessories, spices, sauces and beverages.
That brand engagement experience is what Mark, Greg and the truLOCAL team are bringing to the table as a fresh solution for marketing and promotion teams.
“When you have your next planning meeting, and someone asks you to show them what’s new, just ask them: Have you ever sent your customer a box of steaks? Or better yet, send them a box of steaks and ask them about their experience.”
- as featured in marketingedge magazine August 2022 - click to open e-magazine
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