Bonduelle taps Merkle for agency support in the Benelux
Bonduelle, a French multinational producing processed vegetables, has hired Merkle to help the firm design, build and execute its digital and social strategy in the Benelux.
Founded in 1853, Bonduelle is today with revenues of nearly €3 billion one of the globe’s larger players in the processed vegetables market. The company operates with four major brands – Bonduelle itself, Cassegrain, Arctic Gardens and Globus – and has a particularly strong presence in Europe and the Americas.
As part of its strategy to grow its footprint in the Benelux, Bonduelle has launched a plan aimed at ramping up its brand stature in the Netherlands and Belgium. Underpinning its goal, the company has crafted a marketing strategy spanning digital content creation, influencer and social engagement, and conversation management.
Lianne Hanenberg, who leads Bonduelle’s Marketing Retail team in the Benelux, elaborated on the opportunity the firm sees in the region: “In both the Netherlands and Belgium, vegetable and bean consumption is still far behind the recommended daily intake. We believe Bonduelle can play an important role in facilitating consumers. Online is an extremely suitable medium for informing consumers and, above all, inspiring them with our delicious products and recipes in order to increase consumption.
To support the firm’s endeavours, Bonduelle brought an external marketing and social agency on board. Your Social, a 60-strong Dutch group which is part of Merkle in the Netherlands, was selected following a competitive tender process, with the firm coming out on top on the back of its domain expertise and team effort. “We are very excited about the collaboration. During their pitch, their professional team convinced us of their track record, creativity and thorough approach.”
The agency will start its engagement by developing a digital roadmap, including social campaigns. In parallel, the agency will work with Bonduelle to further shape its local brand story. Tamara Heller, responsible for Strategy & Innovation at Your Social, commented; “Bonduelle is a brand with a lovely ambition and an enormous (digital) potential. We look forward to translating the firm’s rich brand story into creative content and campaigns. Our goal is to position Bonduelle as a player that cannot be ignored: both in retail and online.”
Among the first initiatives that will be rolled out are an interactive (social) campaign aimed at promoting the firm’s Bonduelle mini-packs (mini cans, containing among others corn and legumes) and another one aimed at the 100% deep frozen vegetable rice collection. The campaigns will be visible on many of the leading media and digital channels in the Netherlands and Belgium in the coming weeks.
Related: Dentsu Aegis' Merkle buys digital agency in Switzerland and Germany.