How GoGo Squeez learned it had Gen Z and millennial fans

GoGo Squeez, the brand known for its applesauce pouches loved by kids, is starting to grow up. While the 16-year-old brand is traditionally associated with moms and kids, it recently learned it has a new set of fans: active Gen Zers and millennials who eat the pouches before, during and after their runs, hikes and bike rides. Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, check us out on Spotify and hear us on Amazon Music/Audible. This is our RSS feed. Tell a friend! “We started seeing an uptick in household penetration among households with no kids,” Mark Anthony Edmonson, GoGo Squeez’s chief marketing officer, said on the latest episode of the Marketer’s Brief podcast. “That was our first indicator that something was up. In addition to that we did a couple of surveys asking about usage behavior.” He added that the brand was also being tagged on social media in fitness-related posts. View this post on Instagram A post shared by SAMI SAVOIE (@samirosefit) The insights lead to the brand’s first adult and active-focused product—an applesauce pouch with added electrolytes. Partnering with Olympians To get the word out, GoGo Squeez worked with Weber Shandwick, Mint and 305 Worldwide to find athletes and active lifestyle creators for an influencer campaign featuring Logan Edra, who competed for the U.S. in breaking in the Paris Olympics. “It was breaking’s first entry into the Olympics and we wanted to partner with them to celebrate our entry into a new consumer target,” Edmonson said on the podcast. “We loved Logan’s energy. She definitely reinforces our brand message around being active in the community and active in her own lifestyle.” Edra, who is also known as Logistx, kicked off a hashtag challenge that called on other break dancers to show off their moves with a GoGo Squeez pouch. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Logan.LoVe.Edra (@logistx_ugf) View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Williams Family (@thewilliamsfam) Edmonson said that reaching GoGo Squeez’s active older audience requires a different approach. “We are known as a kid snack brand,” he said. “But I need to change the perception of the pouch itself, that it can be a format that can be leveraged, not only as a kid but as an adult, in providing nutrients.” The competitive world of school cafeterias GoGo Squeez is still focused on its core consumers—parents and kids, particularly those aged six to 12. “That audience is now in elementary school and they’re getting exposed to new products, flavors and textures,” said Edmonson. “And their friends are telling them what they should be purchasing or what to snack on … We’re also trying to ensure that kids are requesting us, so that parents understand they should buy it.” To target this group, GoGo Squeez ran a campaign at the start of the summer that focused on movement. It featured Ben Azelart, who has 30 million subscribers on YouTube and is known for building extreme contraptions, such as a fish tank bed and trampoline park in his house. The campaign is meant to speak to both parents and kids co-viewing social media content and shows on connected TV and YouTube. New media investments GoGo Squeez is planning to invest more in social media and gaming to reach Gen Z. “This is a new space, so there are conversations that we had to have, not only just on social media, but in other environments in which Gen Z is participating,” Edmonson said. “Right now, we’re having an amazing conversation around gaming, because that’s a space that we’ve never played in before. So we are definitely stretching out into new territories that we haven’t explored before as a brand, and we're super excited to actually bring the brand forward into these platforms.” Also reads: How brands are activating on gaming platforms

How GoGo Squeez learned it had Gen Z and millennial fans

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