In 2011-12, we are continuing to make "Mediterranean Diet" household words in America, by strengthening our traditional and social media outreach, expanding our relationships with supermarket RDs, and showing how the remarkable health benefits and delicious flavors of this traditional eating pattern are easily accessible and affordable to consumers from coast to coast. Here are just a few of our plans:

New MFA Mediterranean Pantry

Starting in the summer of  2011, we will post all member Mediterranean products that qualify on our new MFA Mediterranean Pantry web page. We will link our bi-weekly Fresh Friday emails to this resource to help consumers recognize and identify healthy Mediterranean foods and ingredients.

Pyramid Packaging Promotion

Our original Med Mark and our new miniature Med Diet pyramid symbol are both available as packaging tools for your Med products. The miniature yet immediately recognizable version of the pyramid has been designed to help consumers make an immediate connection that the product aligns with one of the world’s healthiest diets.

Outreach

A. Med Diet Guide
We have developed a colorful, easy-to-read brochure  called Welcome to the Mediterranean Diet, which outlines the core features of eating the Med way, and creates an accessible, easy-to-read reference. It is available to download on our site, and is regularly distributed at conferences and events such as FNCE.  We also work on a contract basis with MFA members to customize this guide for their own distribution.

B. Med Month
Our 3rd annual National Mediterranean Diet Month celebration in 2011 has proven to be more far reaching than ever before, as the Oldways promotional team developed new strategies for reaching consumers and health professionals from coast to coast.  Adding to the excitement in 2012 will be:

• Expanded global outreach to food bloggers and news media
• Recognition of Med Diet nationwide in hospitals, schools, and retailers
• Launch of the new Mediterranean Diet Supermarket Dietitians Toolkit for supermarket promotions, tastings and demos

C. Fresh Fridays
Our popular email campaign will continue to reach consumers, RDs, health professionals and media. As always, we’ll feature whole foods and recipes from MFA members in our bi-weekly Fresh Friday emails.

D. UNESCO and Dietary Guidelines Recognition
On November 15, 2010, the Mediterranean Diet joined Spain’s flamenco dance, and Chinese acupuncture as the newest additions to UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Receiving UNESCO World Heritage recognition brings international attention and validation to the healthy, delicious and traditional Mediterranean Diet. And, the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans cited the Mediterranean Diet as an excellent pattern for healthy eating. These two major acknowledgements will be major components in our ongoing media outreach and will help to bring more awareness to the Med Diet.

Customized Projects

The points above highlight activities that will benefit all MFA members. We'd like to remind you that Oldways can also do custom projects, on a contract basis, to help your company meet its unique marketing needs in the area of food and health. Our two decades of nutrition communication experience may be just what you need to give an objective third-party perspective to your message. Here are just a few examples of how we could promote your healthy foods, based on work we've done for other companies:

• A custom-written booklet involving a certain food or group of foods.
• Day-long events or symposiums exploring the science and culinary traditions of specific foods.