Minute Rice helps moms win at dinner

Minute Rice is helping time-pressed moms answer the dreaded “What’s for dinner?” question.

For the second year, the Catelli Foods-owned brand is launching its #WeekdayWin campaign. Minute Rice’s network of food bloggers and influencers will be sharing advice and recipes that address the real struggles of dinner preparation, including having picky eaters and turning into a short-order cook.

As part of last year’s Weekday Win campaign, food bloggers put a unique twist on Minute Rice recipes.

Rather than do that again this year, “we asked the Weekday Win influencer network to create their own recipes based on their experiences with popular dinnertime frustrations, which we’d uncovered through research,” said Norma D’Onofrio, senior brand manager, Minute Rice.

For example, Minute Rice’s study found nearly four in 10 parents struggled to find kid-friendly meals their family will eat, and 36% avoid dinnertime altercations altogether by preparing a different meal for their kids than they do for adults. In addition, the majority of women (79%) felt meals they could make at home in 15 minutes, with fewer ingredients, made their life easier during the week.

For eight weeks, the influencers will be sharing their recipes, experiences, and insights on their various social channels and blogs through posts and live video. They’ll also be tapping into their audiences to collect tips and tricks. Minute Rice is also amplifying the campaign on its own social media channels and website MinuteRice.ca.

“We want to help  not get easily discouraged and overwhelmed by the prospect of making dinner, so they don’t feel the need to reach for the takeout menus as often – which isn’t easy on the wallet,” said D’Onofrio.

The campaign is part of Minute Rice’s “Third of the way there” positioning, which launched in 2016. The idea is to show that one serving of Minute Rice, vegetables and protein makes for a nutritious, wholesome meal, and helps shoppers achieve a “weekday win.”

#Weekday Win also aims to educate consumers about Minute Rice. The survey found half of Canadians didn't know Minute Rice was just rice that’s been partially pre-cooked. One in four admitted to not knowing what instant rice is.

“Due to this large misunderstanding of what our product actually is, we believe there are many people who simply aren’t reaching for Minute Rice,” said D’Onofrio. “We think the awareness generated by this campaign will serve to educate consumers so they know Minute Rice is a wholesome rice option for time-strapped Canadians.”