Help Your Customers Incorporate New Foods & Ingredients into Their Diet
In a recent survey, retail RDs were asked ‘What is the most significant barrier in getting your clients to consistently incorporate flaxseed into their diet?” An overwhelming 86% of RDs surveyed responded that the biggest barrier is that customers don’t know how to use it!
We know this must be the case for other foods, particularly functional foods, and ingredients as well. It’s our mission to help you change this to help more consumers reap the health benefits of functional ingredients like milled flaxseed.
To help consumers to try new foods, we must start by giving them a reason why. It should also be fairly easy and realistic for them to incorporate the new food item into their diet. And it, of course, should taste good. Below we outline these three steps to help your consumers eat more functional foods, using milled flaxseed as an example.
#1: Start with Why
Before picking up any new habit, people need to have a reason for why they should start it.
Help your clients by giving them reasons they can relate to. How will this food or lifestyle change help them reach their bigger picture health and nutrition goals or complement their current behaviors, lifestyle, or values?
Manitoba Milling Smooth Whole Milled Flaxseed, for example, contains fiber, omega-3s, lignans, and plant-based protein. How can these properties contribute to their individual nutrition and health goals?
Nutrition aside, Manitoba Milling Smooth Whole Milled Flaxseed is made from a highly sustainable crop and is produced by a small family-run and women-owned business. Whether you can tie the food item to their specific health condition or their goal of eating more sustainable or plant-based foods, find what connects with each individual.
#2: Make it Easy
Consider your shopper’s current food and meal habits, how can they easily incorporate this new food into their existing routine or regular go-to meals?
Do they drink smoothies or eat oatmeal every morning? Add in a scoop of flaxseed. Do they enjoy baking and meal prep? Could they add flaxseed to energy bites or waffles and freeze them for easy breakfasts and snacks throughout the week? Check out our additional ideas below.
#3: The Taste Factor
No matter how nutritious a food is, people will not regularly consume it if it does not taste good (or if they can’t mask the flavor!). Functional foods like tofu or collagen have a very bland flavor that can easily be masked. Other foods, like spirulina, have a stronger taste.
Do you have recipes you can share that incorporate these foods that make these functional foods taste delicious? Sharing recipes is one of the best ways to help consumers eat more nutritious foods because it breaks down the barrier of learning how to use certain foods, how to cook with healthier ingredients, and helps them discover new foods they may love.
Manitoba Milling Smooth Whole Milled Flaxseed has a uniquely fine mill, smooth texture, and mild taste. Because of the high quality, Manitoba Milling guarantees freshness at room temperature for up to two years - your clients don’t need to worry about a fishy smell or taste or gritty texture. They have no excuses with this product!
For more specific ways your clients can incorporate milled flaxseed into their diet, take a look at the most common flaxseed uses below and be sure to check out manitobaflax.com/blog for more ideas.
The Easiest Ways to Incorporate More Flaxseed into eating habis :
- Smoothies, Oatmeal, Cereal, Yogurt: Add 1-2 Tbsp to any of these each day. Milled Flaxseed works great in overnight oats!
- Pancakes, Waffles, Muffins: You can easily add ¼-⅓ cup of milled flaxseed into any pancake, waffle, or muffin recipe without altering the end result.
- Sauces, Dips, & Spreads: Stir in a scoop to your favorite hummus, salad dressing, or natural peanut butter. Adding milled flaxseed to natural peanut butter will help to absorb the excess oils to prevent the need for stirring in the future.
- Flax Eggs: Whether you run out of eggs or are eating plant-based, swap out the eggs in your baking recipes for flax eggs. For each egg called for, combine 1 Tbsp Manitoba Milling Smooth Whole Milled Flaxseed with 3 Tbsp of water and let it sit for about 3 minutes. The flaxseed helps to gel the liquid and will yield a consistency similar to an egg white.
To easily share these tips with your clients, download this handout. Reach out to Manitoba Milling at info@manitobaflax.com to receive product samples and/or coupons.
