CALIFORNIA - As we enter peak season for artichokes, the official state vegetable of California, Ocean Mist Farms is reporting that demand for this spring produce aisle favorite is excellent.

One of the largest grower/shippers of fresh artichokes, Ocean Mist is experiencing great quality and steady supplies. Diana McClean, Director of Marketing, joined me to discuss the growing popularity of the vegetable and what the company is inspiring from consumer all the way to the retailer.

“March 20^th kicked off the annual spring artichoke promotion, with this year’s theme being ‘Be An Artichoke Adventurer.’ Using the hashtag #ArtiAdventurer, consumers can enter the contest and upload a photo of themselves preparing and/or enjoying a fresh artichoke,” Diana tells me.

The winner of this judged competition will win a trip to Monterey, California, for the annual Artichoke Food & Wine Festival in June.

“This is a creative way for Ocean Mist Farms to drive purchases at store level. We are getting some excellent and creative entries," Diana continues. You can view the Adventure Gallery here, http://www.oceanmist.com/sweepstakes.

For promotion at retail, Ocean Mist artichokes are being shipped with a special Petal Insert. The contest is also being promoted to Ocean Mist Farms 60,000 Artichoke Club members, as well as through social media channels and blogger outreach.

In addition, Ocean Mist artichokes will be featured in April and May in two new videos on FeedFeed a digital brand that publishes curated food, and cooking content with nearly 800K followers on Intagram @feedfeed.

“With this partnership, we are bringing new recipe content to a new demographic sharing simple and delicious cooking techniques for this spring season super star vegetable!” Diana adds.

For continued coverage on artichokes and season updates, check back in with AndNowUKnow.

Ocean Mist