Black Forest teams up with singer Kelly Rowland for major US tree replanting scheme
US confectionery and snacks brand Black Forest has teamed up with former Destiny’s Child singer Kelly Rowland to highlight a key campaign targeting the replanting of 10 million trees in America by 2030, reports Neill Barston.
The ethically focused company, which is renowned for its series of real fruit juice gummy sweets, has for the past three years partnered with the National Forest Foundation (NFF), as part of its core environmental aspirations.
As the candy firm revealed, its latest link-up with the chart-topping musician aims to help spread the word of its ongoing drive to offer education on the importance of preserving natural habitats.
“I’ve always enjoyed the tranquility of being able to escape into nature and the great outdoors,” Rowland (pictured main image), said. “That’s one of the reasons I’m such a big supporter of Black Forest’s ambition to plant 10 million trees by 2030.”
As the business, which is part of the Ferrara group owned by parent confectionery group Ferrero, explained, its National Forest Foundation partnership began with a commitment to plant 1.5 million trees by the end of 2022 in areas that have been ravaged by wildfires.
So far, nearly 600,000 trees have been planted in areas like Fremont-Winema National Forest in Oregon, Sierra National Forest in California and Boise National Forest in Idaho. “Each tree we plant is another step toward a healthier and more vibrant environment for bears, humans and the rest of planet earth,” said Kate Adams, Senior Brand Marketing Director of Black Forest at Ferrara. “We have set bold goals for Black Forest, and we’re committed to achieving them.”
As a brand that believes that Real Good requires Real Action, Black Forest takes on the responsibility to make the world a little better each day. This new aspiration of 10 million trees planted by 2030 reflects Black Forest’s long-term, purpose-led commitments.
Notably, the business is believed to be the first in the gummy candy and fruit snack category to commit to becoming a more sustainable brand across packaging, partnerships and production.
Other elements of Black Forest’s purpose-led pledge includes a key target that by 2022, all products in the Black Forest portfolio will use colours and flavours from real sources, including turmeric, black carrot juice, black currant juice, carrot juice, purple sweet potato juice, cherry juice and radish juice.
Significantly, the firm has also made a commitment to move to fully sustainable packaging by 2025 – which will be recyclable reusable, or compostable, while still maintaining the freshness and quality consumers have come to expect. In addition, the company has also pledged to reduce environmental impact by working to lower carbon emissions, water use and waste.
Love a Tree. Plant a Tree.
In celebration of Love a Tree Day, the company is also inviting fans to continue supporting the cause by dedicating an additional 10,000 trees to fans who support the tree-planting crusade.
Between May 16 and May 26, the brand is encouraging people everywhere to photograph any tree and post it on Instagram with the hashtags # 🐻❤🌲 #sweepstakes and tagging @blackforestusa in the caption of the post. Each day during the 10-day timeframe, Black Forest will select 10 people who have used the hashtag and celebrate their support by planting 100 trees in their name in a National Forest.
“Black Forest understands the value of public lands and shares the important belief that our National Forests are key to the well-being of our communities,” said Mary Mitsos, National Forest Foundation President & CEO. “Through our partnership and the Love a Tree. Plant a Tree. social campaign, we’re able to engage Americans in our mission to protect our forests and inspire real change.”
The business will also be placing QR sales codes located on select Black Forest packages and in-store displays. Scanning the code with a smart device will let people take a virtual tour of several beautiful national forests while they learn some fun facts throughout their exploration journey. More details on its campaign can be found at BlackForestUSA.com/Promise