02/12/2008
Since its inception five years ago, Monterey, CA-based U.S. Fruit & Veg has been marketing broccoli. At first the company procured broccoli, but then turned to growing its own. The company's "Eat Me" logo with a broccoli head forming the letter "T" in the word "Eat" appears on T-shirts and baseball caps and has been popular, said Ash Shoukry, president of U.S. Fruit & Veg.

Now the logo's visibility is ratcheting up with its appearance on the gym trunks of fighters in Ultimate Fighting Championships and World Extreme Cage Fighting.

Mr. Shoukry took to being a sponsor of mixed martial artists after being introduced to the sport in 2005 by one of its top practitioners - Chuck (The Iceman) Liddell - a friend of Mr. Shoukry's from their days together as students at California Polytechnic State University.

Mr. Shoukry is not a sponsor of Mr. Liddell, but he is a sponsor of UFC's Gabriel Gonzaga and Tim (The Maine-iac) Sylvia and of Doug (Rhino) Marshall of WECF.

Not only does Mr. Shoukry have a passion for mixed martial arts fighting, it is perhaps the world's fastest-growing sport and as such offers high visibility to companies sponsoring the fighters. Certain pay-per-view fights are drawing a few million viewers.

Currently, Mr. Shoukry puts up anywhere from $3,000 to $4,000 per fight to cover his fighters' expenses. For sponsoring fighters, he has partnered with Denaro Sports Marketing, which is in the business of branding, marketing and securing fighters in all of their business dealings.


T&A revises web site
Spreckels, CA-based Tanimura & Antle has revised its web site to showcase more recipes and trade support materials than before, while providing visitors a glimpse into the daily life of the family-farming partnership that is Tanimura & Antle.

Lara Grossman, director of marketing and business development, said that the new web site focuses more on Tanimura & Antle as a company and brand. T&A wanted to revitalize the site with enriched content and multi-media.

"Our research said that most visitors to the site were consumers whose interests focused on two things: our products' superior quality and the families who make it happen," Ms. Grossman said. "So this time, we put the families on camera."

Family members appear as hosts in a video on the web site's home page. Also, "Tanimura & Antle TV" shows company CEO Rick Antle in the kitchen preparing Broccoflower recipes, among others, while touting the product's versatility and taste.

Visitors can expect the web site to change with the seasons and reflect product promotions and information in addition to more general company updates.

(Contact Western Editor Brian Gaylord at briangaylord@sbcglobal.net or at 831/372-5811.)