Happy Tomato Strategic PR Plan
Situation Analysis
Founded in 2012, Happy Tomato is a family-based salsa brand from Fort Worth, Texas. Happy Tomato prides itself on having no added sugars, artificial flavors, and preservatives at a competitive price. The brand offers four flavors of salsa in 16oz jars for $7.99 each. Currently, Happy Tomato is found in about fourteen different stores across Texas with a focus on the DFW area. Additionally, their products are available on their website.
In 2023, Lauren Keefe, the founder of Happy Tomato, announced that the business would be closing. Keefe was contacted by two loyal followers of the brand, Jake Schuler and Denny Tedrow, who were disappointed that the brand would not return to shelves. The pair made an offer to purchase the brand with Keefe keeping a minority ownership stake. By 2024, Happy Tomato was back on shelves in Central Markets in the DFW area.
This strategic public relations plan focuses on announcing the expansion of the Happy Tomato brand to enter Whole Foods and Sprouts Farmers Markets in early 2025.
Goals
- Educate consumers on the necessity of all-natural, non-cooked, and homemade salsa
- Position Happy Tomato as Texas’ best choice for salsa on the market
- Introduce Happy Tomato to consumers and build a relationship with consumers in Texas
Objectives
- Establish ties with a charity focused on children’s health, and raise $1,000 for charity
- Increase engagement to the website by 10%, specifically for Texans, through media
- Have 1,000 consumers sample Happy Tomato in newly released retail stores
Research: Summary of Competitive Analysis
Executive Summary
Across the board, Happy Tomato fills a gap in the market by providing a salsa product that focuses on health. There is no popular large-scale or small-scale salsa brand that has no added sugar, no artificial flavors, and no preservatives other than Happy Tomato. Additionally, the most popular competitors have a compelling story behind the brand, including a family recipe or being family-supported since creation. This is very similar to Happy Tomato, which was owned and created by a mother concerned about the health of traditional salsa.
Competitive Brands
- Wright’s of Texas
- Wright’s of Texas is a fresh salsa brand that focuses on making hot sauce with no preservatives. Based on a 30-year-old San Antonio Family recipe, this brand is family-owned and based in Texas.
- Both Happy Tomato and Wright’s of Texas focus on having a few select flavors, but Wright’s of Texas sells their salsa for slightly less at $7.00 for a 16oz jar. Being based in Texas may have to do with the success of the business.
- Wright’s of Texas is a fresh salsa brand that focuses on making hot sauce with no preservatives. Based on a 30-year-old San Antonio Family recipe, this brand is family-owned and based in Texas.
- Cita’s Salsa
- Cita’s Salsa is a family-owned brand based in Dallas, Texas. Along with their salsa, the family owns Cita’s Salsa & Kitchen, where they sell grab-and-go food along with their salsa, which is offered in over ten flavors.
- Cita’s Salsa has a similar number of followers to Happy Tomato.
- Julio’s Salsa
- Julio’s Corn Chips is a family-based brand that sells its salsa and chips across Texas. With a rich family history, Julio’s dates to the early 1980s.
- Julio’s salsa is sold in plastic containers rather than glass jars and does not have any preservatives or health benefits like Happy Tomato. Julio’s branding relies on the rich history of the brand, which may link back to the success of the business.
- Julio’s Corn Chips is a family-based brand that sells its salsa and chips across Texas. With a rich family history, Julio’s dates to the early 1980s.
- Beba’s Pfresh Salsa
- The brand is owned by Maria Silva, who is a Mexican immigrant. The brand is based in Pflugerville, Texas, and is sold at all HEB Central Market locations in Texas.
- Like Happy Tomato, Beba’s Pfresh Salsa has an endearing story behind the creation of the brand that somewhat focuses on health. However, this brand is more expensive than Happy Tomato.
Target Audience
Consumers
The future consumers of Happy Tomato are the same shoppers that are currently present in Whole Foods and Sprouts Farmers Markets. Primarily, Whole Foods and Sprouts Farmers Markets shoppers are mothers willing to buy slightly more expensive groceries in exchange for health benefits. By extension, consumers include those wanting to spend slightly more on salsa when hosting guests. Consumers also include those wanting to support Texas-based or small businesses, sports fans wanting fresh salsa, or those who need to avoid additive sugars or preservatives for health reasons.
Media
The media target audience is those that focus on Texas-based brands, small businesses, success stories, and the cultural heritage of salsa. There is a variety of media that would be a prime target audience for Happy Tomato, such as Fox 4 Good Day or D Magazine.
As an example, here is the link to the small business section of Fox 4 and the Dallas section of D Magazine.
Key Messages
Three key messages below are marketing slogans that assist in building the Happy Tomato brand, along with an explanation of the type of story that would follow a spokesperson’s words:
- Experience the freshness of Texas
- Happy Tomato’s commitment to being healthy and fresh is unparalleled by others
- Assists in educating consumers on how unique the brand is
- Happy Tomato’s commitment to being healthy and fresh is unparalleled by others
- From a mom’s kitchen to Whole Food Shelves
- Happy Tomato’s comeback and the family-centered nature of the brand shows that the brand is dedicated to its consumers
- Shows intriguing success story that many small businesses did not experience after the COVID-19 pandemic
- Happy Tomato’s comeback and the family-centered nature of the brand shows that the brand is dedicated to its consumers
- Handcrafted, all-natural, and mom-approved
- Happy Tomato has an emotional connection between its consumers and the origin of the story of being a passion project created by a concerned mom
- Demonstrates the love and care within the brand
- Demonstrates the love and care within the brand
- Happy Tomato has an emotional connection between its consumers and the origin of the story of being a passion project created by a concerned mom
Strategies
- Tell interesting the interesting story of Happy Tomato
- Educate consumers on fresh, mom-based salsa
- Leverage media for exciting, new sampling opportunities that are unique and special for the media
Tactics
Media Relations
Quarter 1: January – March
- February 9th – Super Bowl LIX
- Best Salsa to have at your Super Bowl LIX Party
Quarter 2: April – June
- May 5th – Cinco de Mayo
- Top five essentials to celebrate Cinco de Mayo
Quarter 3: July – September
- September 26th – The State Fair of Texas begins
- Some Texas-based brands located near the State Fair
Quarter 4: October – December
- November 5th – National Healthy Eating Day
- Healthy alternative brands to your favorite snacks
Story Ideas
- Fox 4 Good Day – Mother-created business is thriving in DFW
- D Magazine – Top brands that will connect you back to Hispanic heritage roots
Events for consumers and/or media
- Cooking class – Collab with Central Market to teach recipes with a class
- Farmers Markets – Sampling at local markets in DFW
Charity partnership
- Children’s Health
Social media Ideas
- Social Media Contest – Make a recipe with salsa to enter an online contest near National Salsa Month
- Day in the life of a small business owner
- Send PR promotion to @explore.vina or @hangryviolet, who are based in DFW
Paid partnership
- Boulevarding – Paying for a boulevard tent at a home SMU football game
- Sponsor SMU Football for a game
Consumer Sampling
- School promotion – Highland Park ISD or private schools in DFW
- Hosting – Cinco De Mayo party for large-scale sampling
- Rodeos – San Antonio, HLSR, State Fair of Texas
Calendar and Timing
Quarter 1: January – March
- January 1st – New Years Day
- February 9th – Super Bowl LIX
- February 22nd – Margarita Day
- March 2nd – Texan Independence Day
- March 23rd – National Chip and Dip Day
Quarter 2: April – June
- April 6th – National Tomato Day
- April 20th – Easter
- May 1st – National Salsa Month begins
- May 5th – Cinco de Mayo
- June 1st – National Garden Week
Quarter 3: July – September
- July 4th – National Independence Day
- September 5th – First Week of Regular Season NFL Games
- September 6th – First SMU Football Home Game
- September 15th – National Hispanic Heritage Month begins
- September 26th – The State Fair of Texas begins
Quarter 4: October – December
- October 20th – The State Fair of Texas ends
- November 5th – National Healthy Eating Day
- November 27th – Thanksgiving
- December 7th – Dallas Holiday Parade
- December 31st – New Years Eve
Evaluation and Measurement
We will evaluate and measure success based on whether we met the following objectives:
- Establish ties with a charity focused on children’s health, and raise $1,000 for charity
- Increase engagement to the website by 10%, specifically for Texans, through media
- Have 1,000 consumers sample Happy Tomato in newly released retail stores
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