Leaders in Customer Loyalty, Powered by Loyalty360
Leaders in Customer Loyalty, Powered by Loyalty360
#393: Edible Brands: Growing Emotional Loyalty by Giving Consumers Convenience and Quality
Edible Brands was founded in 1999 by Tariq Farid, and the company has revolutionized the gifting industry by merging the innovation of a powerful e-commerce platform with locally owned brick-and-mortar locations worldwide. The brand’s expansive footprint and delivery network sets it apart. Edible can deliver to 80% of U.S. households in an hour.
Seeking to ensure that the brand was truly meeting the expectations and demands of an increasingly busy consumer, Edible recently launched a new brand within its portfolio: FreshFruit.com, a direct-to-consumer fruit delivery service. Ease of ordering, quality, and a frictionless experience are designed to enhance relationships with consumers while strengthening emotional loyalty.
Mark Johnson, CEO of Loyalty360, spoke with Lindsey Servold, Director of Marketing at Edible Brands. Servold’s role encompasses a wide range of responsibilities to drive brand growth and enhance market presence. This includes managing integrated marketing strategies and overseeing the execution to help propel the company’s goals and vision forward.
In this interview, Servold shares more about the new FreshFruit.com brand, growing emotional loyalty through delivering quality and delight, and investing in world-class technology in-house.
Sustainability is an important attribute for brands today. They realize, based on feedback within the market, that younger consumers place a premium on and therefore will tend to search out, choose and frequent brands that have a defined social mission and commitment to sustainability. The key to making sure sustainability is genuine for the brand and does not come off as contrived.
Speaker 1:One brand that seems to be hitting on all notes is edible brands. Where else can you get that healthy gift for your mom, your sister or your uncle, all while getting fresh fruit delivered to your door? Today, we have the pleasure of speaking with Lindsay Sevald. She is the Director of Marketing for Edible Brands and she is going to discuss the customer loyalty focus and launch of their new subscription service, Freshfruitcom. How are you today, Lindsey?
Speaker 2:Great. How are you doing? Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1:Thank you very much for taking the time to speak with us today. First off, can you give us a brief introduction to Edible Brands and tell us about your role within the organization?
Speaker 2:Absolutely so.
Speaker 2:Edible Brands was founded in 1999, and we've really revolutionized the gifting industry by merging the innovation of a powerful e-commerce platform with locally owned brick and mortar locations worldwide.
Speaker 2:So one of the uniqueness things about us, I would say, that really sets us apart is our expansive footprint and delivery network.
Speaker 2:We're able to deliver to 80% of households within the US in an hour, and so my role as director of marketing I've been here for a little bit of for a little over a year now but my role encompasses a wide range of responsibilities to drive brand growth and really enhance our market presence. So that includes a lot of integrated marketing strategies, right, and overseeing the execution of those to help drive the company's goals and vision forward. Last year, back in October of 2023, we just recently launched a brand new visual identity system brand campaign to really help drive some top of funnel and big sort of brand objectives for us in terms of awareness, perception and top of mind. So, yeah, we have a lot going on. But particularly, one of the things that I'm most excited to talk about today is FreshFruitcom. So we just launched a new brand within our portfolio of brands, freshfruitcom, and that is a direct-to-consumer fruit delivery service, so really expanding our reach and providing customers with fresh, high-quality fruit delivered right to their doorstep.
Speaker 1:You recently launched a new subscription service, FreshFruitcom. What are the benefits of the new service and what subscription options are available for customers? Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2:So FreshFruitcom, just as it might sound like, is a fruit delivery service, as I mentioned before, and it's really been designed to offer convenience and quality to our customers. So the benefits of this service include, like I said, this hand selection of premium whole fruits delivered next day to our customers' doorsteps. And it was really our answer to the busy parent, the busy mom, the busy professional that just doesn't have time to get to the store every day, but they really care about consuming high quality and fresh foods, both for them and for their families. So it was something that was born out of necessity, that we've identified to help simplify access to fresh fruit, high quality fresh fruit and it's all about ease and convenience.
Speaker 1:It's well known that Gen Z and millennials have made it clear that food source and sustainability commitments are top of mind when choosing which brands they want to patronize. What does that mean to you at Edible Brands?
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely. We definitely recognize the importance of sustainability and reducing food waste, especially for that younger generation, like you're saying, Mark, those millennials and Gen Z. So that was an important factor that we considered when designing our brand's offerings and one of the reasons why we included a range of options and are working with family-owned businesses to prioritize sustainable practices. So we offer a variety of sizes, both small and large, across our different SKUs and then different subscription models. So we have weekly deliveries for those who are consuming at a higher rate, monthly deliveries and even a one time purchase for those who are interested in trialing or maybe just are in need of some fresh fruit in a pinch, but really designing the brand to cater to customers' needs but also their consumption habits. And then, of course, with the backing of the Edible Delivery Network, we're able to bring high-quality fresh fruit direct to consumers' doors in places where they may just not be able to access the market as easily and quickly as they'd like.
Speaker 1:Emotional Loyalty is also front and center for members of Loyalty360. We have a working group that focuses on it. There are a number of great providers within the industry as well. Brands are looking to drive that deeper level of engagement with a consumer. Yet that can be quite challenging. When you look at everyday routines and certainly special occasions, such as what you do at Edible Brands, you know how is that emotive? How does that help drive an emotional connection to Edible Brands?
Speaker 2:Absolutely so. At Edible, celebrating the moments that matter is central to our brand and is really the idea and sentiment that we were founded on 25 years ago. We recognize that food plays a very pivotal role in people's lives. It's deeply intertwined with everyday routines and special occasions. So our mission is to create memorable experiences that go beyond just the product, meaning we focus on delivering quality and delight in every interaction. So from that first click on the website to the moment that we hand deliver an order to a customer's door. But we also recognize that not everyone is looking for a fruit arrangement.
Speaker 2:We like to say that fruit was just the beginning. It's where we've started, but we've expanded so much over the years. So, especially when considering how to attract new customers and be able to fulfill on whatever their need is, Personalization has been key in that as a way to really help drive emotional loyalty across the board. So providing new offerings to accompany every unique gifting moment or entertainment moment or hosting moment they might have has been a significant priority for the brand. Major holidays will always be especially important to edible and at edible brands, but we've really been leaning into sort of the treat yourself culture and purchase by embracing those smaller and everyday purchases. So we like to say there's an edible for that. It's our brand campaign that just launched in October. So that's really say there's an edible for that. It's our brand campaign that just launched in October. So that's really about transforming how people think about gifting and self-gifting and celebrating the everyday to make it less about the calendar and those occasions and more about just personal connection.
Speaker 2:Everything we do is connected back to emotional loyalty, especially considering the industry that we live in and exist in. So by providing a seamless experience and a pleasant experience at that, you know, that's where we're reinforcing trust and satisfaction, which are really key components of emotional loyalty. Because people come to us to deliver on that last mile need like oh shoot, I have an anniversary that I need to that I need a gift for, or I have a birthday that I need a gift for. So really being able to deliver on those most urgent needs of our customers, particularly for fresh fruit. We know the top purchase consideration and factor for consumers is freshness, with 76% of consumers prioritizing it. But the tension there is that only about 51% have concerns about the freshness of produce online that's purchased online. So there's a huge opportunity for us to capitalize and really pull through the affinity and the emotional loyalty that we've established over the edible side into FreshFruitcom At the 2024 Loyalty Expo.
Speaker 1:brands shared how they are challenged today to create more personalized and relevant partnerships that align with the customer's values while also making sure that they're on point with regard to their brand mission customer's values while also making sure that they're on point with regard to their brand mission. This process to drive partnerships that are effective for both brands, or more than two brands, is more challenging than it has been in the past, making sure that they are carefully constructed to both customers in a meaningful, impactful manner, and to the brands. When you look at that, how is Edible Brands looking at partnerships within?
Speaker 2:Absolutely yeah. So we certainly recognize the importance of creating personalized and relevant partnerships that align with our customers' values, while staying true to our brand's mission. And that's probably, you know, one of the most critical pieces to get right, that bit of authenticity. You really want it to come through and be something that is going to add value to the customer's life, but still, you know again, be true to your core and what you stand for. So, yeah, we really try to find brands that are like-minded, that we can borrow equity from, that either reach existing audiences or new audiences. But a few core tenets in terms of how we decide and the criteria that we decide upon are going to be, of course, first and foremost, business objectives. So here at Edible Brands, it's all about driving awareness, top of mind awareness in particular, shifting perceptions and driving sales, of course. So that's going to be one lens that we look through. Another is going to be does this partnership allow us to achieve something that we otherwise wouldn't be able to? And is it going to be, is it consumer centric and is it going to drive value, especially entertainment value, with consumers? And then one of another sort of key criteria for us is is it a little bit unexpected. You know, those are the ones that are always turning heads, making headlines and, again, are finding that perfect kind of synergy between providing value and also entertainment.
Speaker 2:But another sort of avenue of partnerships that has really kind of incorporated a bit more personalization for us is going to be influencers. I would say so. That is a way that we can tell our brand story through a very specific lens and almost a testimonial point of view, if you will. So it's not going to be your traditional, you know, brand to brand partnership, of course, but it is an avenue that we've been experimenting a lot with and have seen really impactful success with. So we're continuing to expand upon partnerships. I'm about to go into a meeting this afternoon to talk about our 2025 partnership strategy. So we have some really interesting ones in the making with some different CPG brands and, of course, at the core of all of them is, you know, how are we providing something that's really custom and unique and personalized to consumers?
Speaker 1:We recently conducted our state of customer loyalty paper. It looks at trends and best practices within the industry and also challenges and opportunities. One of the big challenges that we continue to hear about is brands have a challenge keeping up with different technologies. We feel there are at least 26 different technologies as part of a customer loyalty MarTech stack, so when you look at the disparate types of technologies you're dealing with, they can have different functions within the platforms. How are you able to pick the platforms or, more importantly, understand the platforms that will help you reach your personalization and customer loyalty goals?
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, really good question. We've definitely encountered it. I think it's a very all too common sort of platform conundrum throughout the e-commerce realm. But that's really motivated us to take a two-pronged approach, if you will. So on the one hand, we really lean into our internal technology team to build innovative platforms and services that help unlock e-commerce growth from the ground up.
Speaker 2:Most of our e-commerce platforms here at Edible Brands is powered by a homegrown system. We've invested in world-class technology and leadership to ensure that our systems are both competitive and delivering on the experience that our customer needs, wants and deserves from us. But then the second prong of that, if you will, is a best-of-breed approach. We recognize that technology is constantly evolving every single day, and so you know there are instances where we need to turn external and find our external partners who have a specific expertise in a certain subject matter. So you know and partner with them and bring in that expertise in-house. So that way we're combining kind of an internal and external ecosystem to get the most consumer-centric results out into market at speed, and so Freshfruitcom is actuallya great example of that, where it's built on Shopify. That's the backing and the powering to Freshfruitcom, but we still continue to use our custom framework and API stack to intertwine with FreshFruitcom and be able to deliver our promise to consumers, which is Fresh Fruit to your doorstep next day.
Speaker 1:Are there other subscription programs or loyalty programs that you admire, that you are loyal to from a customer loyalty perspective? If so, what do you like about those offerings?
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely. It's been really fun and inspiring to see the realm of subscription brands grow and begin to take over the direct consumer space. I think a few that have stuck out for us that are sort of you know, some of those North Stars, if you will, as we were designing FreshRootcom, were ones like HelloFresh, ipsy BarkBox. They've really been game changing for their industries and we've certainly been inspired by the ease and convenience of those subscription models in ways that align very well with Edibles core values. So for freshfruitcom we've tapped into consumers eagerness for ease and convenience by offering the option for one-time purchase for weekly subscriptions, monthly subscriptions, and so we can give them the options that they need to never feel like they're too tied into a specific offering. So again, the customer experience is top priority at Edible Brands. Freshfruitcom is a convenient way for customers to really enjoy our exceptional produce with deliveries that flex to their needs.
Speaker 2:Here at Edible Brands we are very entrepreneurial, we're a little bit startup. We're always focused on you know how can we deliver an experience that is truly customer first in nature. So you know what is it that's going to take that done, even if it means sort of a crawl walk run model where we're layering on that functionality and the technology to power that over time. So, freshfruitcom, you know there was a stage in which it was okay. Well, what is the sort of like MVP that we need that? You know that we're going to kind of soft launch with test, get out there and understand where areas of opportunity are to fine tune things. But yeah, it's all about testing and learning.
Speaker 1:Last question I have is what can Loyalty360 do to help you and your team with regard to their customer loyalty efforts?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think just continuing to do what you are doing Understanding loyalty trends is so incredibly helpful, but there are also just so many out customer loyalty efforts. Yeah, I think just continuing to do what you are doing Understanding loyalty trends is so incredibly helpful, but there are also just so many out there that it can be a little daunting at times to sift through everything. So, I think help continuing to do the groundwork to understand well what are. There's so many such a diverse array of loyalty programs out there, so really helping to showcase what those are and how they can be uniquely tailored to various industries, and especially like knowing that we are very much an e-commerce company as well as a retail company what those loyalty programs look like that help merge the two.
Speaker 1:And now it's time for the quick fire question part of the interview. We like to keep these short or I get in trouble with the content team. The first question I have is what is your favorite word?
Speaker 2:My favorite word humility.
Speaker 1:What's your least favorite word? Can't what excites you?
Speaker 2:I have twin five-year-old boys.
Speaker 1:What do you find tiresome my?
Speaker 2:twin five-year-old boys. What do you find tiresome? My twin five-year-old boys.
Speaker 1:Which less known fruit should customers try, and why?
Speaker 2:Kumquats. They're super fun and tasty.
Speaker 1:Is there a book you'd like to recommend to your colleagues or to your friends?
Speaker 2:Shoe Dog by Phil Knight.
Speaker 1:What profession, other than the one you are doing now, would you like to attempt?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think interior design would be a fun one.
Speaker 1:What do you enjoy doing now. Would you like to attend? Yeah, I think interior design would be a fun one. What do you enjoy doing that you often don't get the time to do?
Speaker 2:Reading a book on the beach.
Speaker 1:Who inspired you to become the person that you are today?
Speaker 2:I'm gonna say my parents and my husband.
Speaker 1:And last question, lindsay how do you want to be remembered by your friends and family?
Speaker 2:As someone who is empathetic and who you can just count on to be there, no matter the situation.
Speaker 1:Well, thank you very much for taking the time to join us today, lindsay. It was great getting to know a bit more about your sustainability efforts and your customer loyalty focus, looking forward to hearing more from you and your team over the next year or so. So thank you very much for taking the time to share.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. Thank you so much. We really appreciate the conversation.
Speaker 1:Also thank you everyone else for taking the time to listen. Make sure you check back soon for additional episodes of our Leaders in Customer Loyalty series and until then, have a wonderful day.