NW Michigan Food and Farming Network Report to the Community 2015 Report to the Community | Page 11

2015 Report to the community

Taste the Local Difference®
in Northwest Michigan
TLD makes it easy
to find local food
By Tricia Phelps
Michigan Land Use Institute
Over more than a decade, Taste
the Local Difference® (TLD) has
evolved to become northwest Michigan’s local food marketing agency.
This evolution is a direct result
of numerous discussions among
members of the Food and Farming
Network. Through a simple market
analysis, the consensus became that
the goals of the network require developing greater consumer demand
for local food in
our region.
The TLD
brand is a
differentiator
for local food
products that
would otherwise
be lost on vast store shelves. It helps
consumers easily find locally grown
and made foods, while providing
marketing and support to retailers,
farmers, and food producers. In-store
marketing materials, and print, web,
and app-based tools for consumers
provide the emphasis and unique
context for each individual business
related to local food in northwest
Michigan. TLD is currently selling licenses for the brand to select
retailers, allowing them to place TLD
shelf-talkers, decals, stickers, and
signs throughout their stores.
The TLD pledge, which all listed

TLD’s shelf-talkers are easily accessible and serve as a platform for sharing
information about TLD partners with the consumer. (Photo: Tricia Phelps)

businesses must sign, asks producers to provide honest, accurate and
timely information to consumers
upon demand. The simple exchange
of trustworthy information is a
major driver in consumer purchasing
and brand loyalty. TLD’s branded
shelf-talkers are designed to be easily
accessible and serve as a platform
for sharing information about TLD
partners with the consumer.
The number of TLD partners in
northwest Michigan has more than
tripled in the last 10 years, growing
from 149 in 2004 to 507 in 2014.
The increase in partners has also developed an opportunity to measure
consumer’s local food purchasing in
comparison to total food purchasing—baseline research that we hope
to collect in 2015.
Availability of the TLD brand
reaches beyond farms and retail
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stores. The TLD magazine, smartphone app, and website allow
consumers to search the entire TLD
database of partners. Each partner
is provided a featured listing in the
online guide, with contact information and the location of the business.
In addition to direct consumer benefits, this technology also connects
partners, encouraging synergies and
business-to-business relationships.
As familiarity and loyalty to the
brand grows, so does TLD’s success.
By highlighting local food options
in stores and promoting businesses
that make sourcing local a priority,
TLD effectively directs consumer
purchasing towards local farms and
businesses. This direction creates the
necessary demand to strengthen and
develop more resilient local food and
farming systems.
www.localdifference.org