Sesame Street Characters to Market Fresh Fruits, Veggies to Kids

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Sesame Street characters like Elmo and Rosita can now be used for free to market fresh produce in food stores by mid-2014 thanks to a new partnership aimed at encouraging children to eat more fruits and vegetables.

The two-year partnership—between the Sesame Workshop and the Produce Marketing Association (PMA) and the Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) and First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative—allows PMA’s community of growers, suppliers and retailers to utilize the strength and influence of the Sesame Street brand without a licensing fee.

That means characters like Big Bird, Elmo, Rosita and Abby Cadabby can adorn produce sections and products to showcase fresh fruits and vegetables to kids.

“Just imagine what will happen when we take our kids to the grocery store, and they see Elmo and Rosita and the other Sesame Street Muppets they love up and down the produce aisle,” said First Lady Michelle Obama, according to a news release. “Imagine what it will be like to have our kids begging us to buy them fruits and vegetables instead of cookies, candy and chips.

The First Lady also called for stakeholders to leverage the power of marketing to promote healthy products to kids.

In her remarks, the First Lady referenced a recent study published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine conducted by researchers at Cornell University. Researchers gave kids a choice between eating an apple, a cookie, or both and the vast majority of the kids chose the cookies. But when the researchers put Elmo stickers on the apples and let the kids choose again, nearly double the number of kids went for the apple.

“It’s no secret that many parents have a hard time getting kids excited about eating their fruits and vegetables,” said PHA CEO Lawrence A. Soler. “Today’s commitment helps all of us promote increased fruit and vegetable consumption, and gives parents and families a powerful, positive tool to help get kids excited about eating healthier foods.”