ARLINGTON, VA – Last week, a busy month of celebrating U.S.-grown rice came to an end as September’s National Rice Month (NRM) wrapped up and the USA Rice series of promotional events and activities wound down.
“The whole month is all about putting the spotlight on U.S.-grown rice and the thousands of people across the country responsible for producing our favorite grain,” said Michael Klein, vice president of communications and domestic promotion. “To do that we deployed a combination of outreach tactics and promotional partnerships to reach as many consumers as possible.”
USA Rice, in partnership with
thefeedfeed, the online community of people who love to cook, hosted a series of NRM sweepstakes and tapped a network of registered dietitian (RD) influencers to create and photograph six new rice recipes that were distributed across their individual platforms. James Beard-nominated Chef Hari Cameron developed a new recipe created especially for NRM –
rice pudding crème brulée – made with both U.S.-grown jasmine and medium grain rice. USA Rice also collaborated with high-end appliance manufacturer Zojirushi and Ari Lang of
@wellseasonedstudio for an online giveaway of a rice cooker.
A daily campaign, published across all USA Rice social media platforms, inspired followers to celebrate NRM and #thinkrice and generated strong results with more than 60,000 consumer impressions and 266 new followers for the month. Special editions of the school foodservice and consumer newsletters were distributed and shared ways to celebrate and connect with USA Rice, including recipes, giveaways, and other rice resources.
On the retail side, USA Rice partnered with two chain grocery stores, Shoprite and Hy-Vee, to conduct promotions for shoppers in the mid-Atlantic and midwest regions. Shoprite store events varied by location and included cooking demos, educational displays, customer giveaways, and community events in honor of NRM. USA Rice supported the Hy-Vee KidsFit Club, a program encouraging students and families to eat healthy and stay active. Five thousand students received co-branded USA Rice cafeteria posters.
“USA Rice also celebrated domestic rice as part of Whole Grains Month,” said Klein. “We partnered with the Whole Grain Council to promote consumption and highlight the nutritional benefits of whole grain rice.”
The celebratory month closed out with an accredited presentation for foodservice professionals looking to learn more about the U.S. rice industry and gain a free continuing education unit (CEU). The sixty-minute training webinar received accreditation from the Association of Nutrition and Foodservice Professionals (ANFP), the Commission of Dietetic Registration (CDR), and the School Nutrition Association (SNA).
In addition, the National Rice Month scholarship video contest launched on September 1. The annual contest, sponsored by American Commodity Company, hands out at least $10,000 in college scholarships. Entries will be accepted until October 31 and winners will be announced at the USA Rice Outlook Conference in Austin, Texas, this December.