This year hasn't been easy for the peanut. In mid-January, a salmonella outbreak linked to peanut butter used in processed foods sparked massive recalls and generally unfortunate publicity. Luckily for the National Peanut Board, a rebranding effort has been in the works for more than a year and officially kicked off in New York this week.
In a one-two effort to reach both consumers and food editors, the National Peanut Board introduced the new campaign with a public stunt in Grand Central Terminal's Vanderbilt Hall and a private tasting event of peanut-inspired meals at the Astor Center. Board president and managing director Raffaela Marie Fenn and chairman Roger Neitsch planned the event from the home base of Atlanta, but chose New York as a more appropriate venue to introduce the new advertisements and slogan, “energy for the good life.”
A particular emphasis on that energy could be found at Grand Central, where the board’s pop-up “Energy Central” recreated a peanut field on Wednesday and Thursday, where actual farmers from across the country explained the nutritional benefits of the protein-filled staple to commuters. A small street team, dressed much like Mr. Peanut—without monocle and top hat—handed out packages of nuts to folks walking by on 42nd street.
Wednesday’s tasting and party, however, seemed more about distancing the legume from its most recent scandal and reminding America’s culinary capital about the many ways the peanut is used. Chefs from California, Georgia, and New York were on site to dole out peanut-infused dishes to food editors and writers and even offer cooking demonstrations in the Astor Center’s kitchen auditorium.
Guests sampled such unusual peanut fare as cotton candy, lemonade, and macaroni and cheese, while mingling with nearly a dozen peanut farmers all in town for the occasion. Tall men, many wearing flannels tucked into jeans, smiled widely while eating peanut ice cream and answering questions about how farming has changed in the last decade—a sight that would have surely warmed Jimmy Carter's heart.
