PORTLAND, Ore.–In honor of National Bulk Foods Day on Oct.23, 2010, the Bulk is Green Council launched the first of two YouTube videos that follow everyday shoppers on a trip to their neighborhood grocery store, documenting how they save time and money while shopping in the bulk bin department.
The first YouTube video, which can be viewed at YouTube.com/BulkisGreenCouncil, follows a 40-something man, and a mom and her son on their quest to gather the 11 ingredients needed to make a wholesome, natural snack. The man shops in the regular aisles of the grocery store, while the mom and child shop exclusively in the bulk foods aisle. The drastic difference in total cost and time required of each is then compared.
“The videos reveal some interesting information about how people shop for food today," said Clint Landis, founding member of the Bulk is Green Council and chief marketing officer for Frontier Natural Products Co-Op. “We suspected the mother and child shopping natural in bulk would save money – anywhere from 30 to 96 percent – but we were surprised to see the little boy had fun selecting all the ingredients from one aisle. He actually taught his mom how to shop in bulk, while the single man shopping in the regular aisles had to run all around the store to find what he needed and ended up pretty frustrated."
The second video in the series follows a different set of shoppers who are prepping a gourmet dinner for a group of friends, and will be launched in time for the first-ever National Bulk Foods Day on Oct.23.
“Budgets are tight and people are thinking twice about how far their dollar takes them," said Bart McKnight, founding council member and category manager for Trade Fixtures. “We decided to document the experiences of real people to better understand how Americans are getting creative with their purchasing decisions, and we think that these videos will teach people a thing or two about to how to make cost-effective, eco-friendly choices at the grocery store."
The Bulk is Green Council launched the YouTube campaign as part of an ongoing effort to educate people on the environmental and economic benefits of shopping natural and organic in bulk. Founded in 2008, the council includes industry leaders Hain Celestial Group, SunRidge Farms, Frontier Natural Products Co-Op, Trade Fixtures and Lundberg Family Farms.