Wishnatzki Farms
Launching a New Brand with Pixies and Social Media

As if the January freezes weren’t enough to keep him busy, FFVA producer member Gary Wishnatzki launched Wish Farms, a new consumer brand, in the new year.

Wishnatzki Farms is Florida’s largest strawberry shipper-grower, but it also handles bell peppers, squash, cherry and grape tomatoes and more. Today, when those products are shipped to supermarkets, they carry the new Wish Farms label, which features Misty the Garden Pixie.

Gary Wishnatzki of Wishnatzki Farms recently launched a new brand for the company, Wish Farms.

The ambitious endeavor began about a year and half ago, when Wishnatzki hired Tampa-based marketing agency ChappellRoberts to conduct consumer research on fresh produce brands.

 
“It turned out that people didn’t recognize very many brands of fresh produce, and few could recall our brand,” Wishnatzki said. “Those who did couldn’t spell it.”

The company decided to establish itself with a brand that would be easier to remember – and easier to spell.

“Our goal was to create a brand that would make a connection to consumers and be noticed on grocery store shelves,” said Wishnatzki. “We used focus group results to guide the development of the new Wish Farms brand name and its pixie mascot, who I named Misty the Garden Pixie.”

NOT YOUR ORDINARY PIXIE

“As the centerpiece of our brand launch, I asked ChappellRoberts to produce a series of videos that we could post on YouTube,” said Wishnatzki. 

The humorous videos feature two pixies in a variety of scenes in the fields and packinghouse. The more seasoned pixie is showing his “greener” counterpart the ropes, and both admire Misty the Garden Pixie, from afar. The videos can be seen at www.YouTube.com/WishFarms. Wishnatzki's son, Nick, plays Pete the veteran pixie and actor Ben Daniele plays the underling.

“I actually came up with the idea of the video, but ChappellRoberts wrote the script and convinced me to portray Misty through the eyes of other pixie characters. I loved the concept and the chance to cast my son,” said Wishnatzki.  “I know… a little nepotism there, but it worked.”

BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS WITH SOCIAL MEDIA

In addition to the YouTube videos, Wishnatzki Farms developed a strategic plan to ensure widespread exposure. 

“Social media is an important part of our marketing mix because it allows us to bring the brand to life in environments where consumers can interact with us,” Wishnatzki said.  “We have been receiving and responding to letters and e-mails from satisfied consumers for years. Now, reaching out through social media expands our ability to build relationships with the people who buy our products.”

The social media strategy and brand launch plan included “teaser” campaigns to build anticipation with ads in grocery store publications, Facebook posts, and e-mail blasts to thousands, as well as news releases and media outreach.

Before the formal announcement, Wishnatzki also kept his friends, family and business associates engaged through personal video postings on the  company’s Web site, and on its  Facebook fan page and on its  YouTube Channel.

The company’s Web site, blog, Facebook page, and YouTube videos all link together to reinforce the brand message and increase consumer involvement and awareness of Wish Farms.

CONNECTING WITH THE COMMUNITY

To help kick-start viewership of the videos locally, Wishnatzki personally handed out 2,000 pounds of strawberries to students at the University of South Florida. Misty the Garden Pixie, Pixie Pete, and several warehouse worker pixies were there to ask students to watch the videos online. For each video view, Wishnatzki Farms pledged $1 to the First Generation Matching Grant Scholarship fund.

“It’s a scholarship program that assists any student who is the first generation of their family to go to college,” said Wishnatzki. “And the $10,000 we raised will be matched by the state of Florida.”

Wishnatzki also is building its online community through its FreshQC™ program, which allows consumers to offer feedback to the farmer. Strawberry pickers place stickers asking, “How’s my picking?™” on each package they pick. Consumers can then go online and provide their feedback.

“We had about 2,000 comments since we began the FreshQC program last year, and we hope to convert at least 20 percent of those into Facebook fans,” said Wishnatzki.

The company also holds its annual Strawberry Pro-Am tennis tournament in February.  Proceeds this year will go to the Redlands Christian Migrant Association’s capital campaign for building classrooms at its Wimauma Academy.

“We’re excited because this is our fifth year, and the event has grown beyond anything we ever imagined,” Wishnatzki said.

In the past, proceeds from the fundraiser also have benefitted USF’s migrant scholarship fund, established by Wishnatzki.

He’s also excited about a special event his company made possible for the Florida Strawberry Festival. It’s sponsoring Farm Worker Appreciation Day on the second weekend of the festival.

“We’re going to distribute tickets to about 5,000 farm workers that will allow them to get into the festival for free,” said Wishnatzki. “We’re doing this in conjunction with the Florida Strawberry Growers Association. Our growers and our company workers will receive more than 1,200 tickets. Other growers can purchase tickets at deeply discounted prices so they can include their workers in the program, too. It should be a good thing and hopefully it’ll catch on and become a popular weekend for farm workers,” said Wishnatzki.

ABOUT WISHNATZKI FARMS

Wishnatzki Farms owns more than 2,500 acres of farmland in Manatee and Hillsborough counties. In addition, it represents more than 1,000 acres that it does not own directly. The company ships about 3 million flats of strawberries and 2 million packages of vegetables a year.

Look for the Wish Farms brand in supermarkets now and if you’re on Facebook, be sure to become a fan of Wishnatzki Farms.