California Prune Board teams up with Canadian athletes to promote bone health

01 Feb 2021 --- The California Prune Board has partnered with a host of Canadian athletes – including some who are training for the Olympics – to highlight the role of good nutrition and exercise in bone health.

The professional athletes in the Team Up program share training, nutrition and workout tips online, which highlight some of the versatile ways California prunes can be incorporated into one’s diet.

Prunes are high in vitamin K and are a source of manganese, both of which support the maintenance of healthy bones. 

“In our latest consumer research, one in three men and women in Canada would buy more prunes if they knew more about their health benefits and ways to use them,” Esther Ritson-Elliott, director of international marketing and communications for the California Prune Board, tells NutritionInsight. 

“So in Canada, for the Team Up campaign, we have partnered with a number of past and present Canadian athletes to showcase the wonders of prunes, and also the role they can play in helping to maintain healthy bones thanks to the nutrients they contain.”

Prunes are high in vitamin K and are a source of manganese, both of which support the maintenance of healthy bones.

Searching for natural
Ritson-Elliott explains that the Team Up program follows increased exports to Canada amid rising interest in natural foods. 

“Canada is our 3rd largest export market for California Prunes and we have been investing in marketing activities to grow the market.”  

The latest US exports of California Prunes to Canada (Aug-Nov 2020) are up +12 percent in volume versus the same period in 2019.

Age of the influencer
The program reaches Canadian consumers via the athletes’ social media channels, as well as the California Prune Board’s Team Up hub online. 

Professional athletes include Paralympic participant Ben Brown, canoeist Haley Daniels, Canada’s National Women’s Softball team and others. Some of them are in training for the upcoming Olympic games.

As observed in Innova Market Insights’ tenth Top Ten Trend for 2021, “Age of the Influencer,” prominent figures on social media can have real impact on consumer purchasing.  

The California Prune Board also works with several other ambassadors around the world to demonstrate the benefits and versatility of incorporating prunes into the diet as both a snack and an ingredient.  

These include chef and baker Peter Sidwell in the UK, Italian fitness influencer, Davide Campagna and dietitian and nutritionist Dr. Annamaria Acquaviva. 

Science behind the claims 
The California Prune Board has been supporting research into the health benefits of prunes for decades, with studies showing the effects prunes may positively exert on bone mineral density.

“Strong bones can be maintained with help from a healthy lifestyle, including exercise and a balanced diet of foods containing nutrients like calcium, vitamin D and vitamin K,” affirms Ritson-Elliott. 

Vitamin K and vitamin D have recently been in the spotlight following research by Kappa Bioscience that vitamin K2 and D3 work in synergy to balance calcium for better bone and cardiovascular health. 

Last November, a study published in BMC Medicine found that vegans are up to 43 percent more likely to suffer bone fractures, which was also correlated with a lower intake of calcium.

The California Prune Board continues to invest heavily in extensive nutrition research into the benefits of prunes on areas including bone health and gut health, concludes Ritson-Elliott.

Nutrient-dense foods to the table
As consumers look for more ways to reduce meat consumption while maintaining full nutrition, the California Prune Board highlights prunes as “the perfect companion in meat-plant blends.”

Moreover, California prunes may also be used in some bakery applications to reduce fat by at least 24 percent.

By Missy Green