Food-tech company Ra Foods challenges what ‘fresh’ really means in a new national campaign for its Wild About Sprouts brand, which is rooted in the simple but disruptive idea that fresh is no longer the ceiling for produce.
The brand is positioning its live sprouts as a step beyond traditional packaged produce to what it calls “living nutrition,” according to the company’s CEO Des Hague and Chief Marketing Officer John Rota.
Wild About Sprouts products are packaged with their roots intact in soil, turning each product into what Hague described as a “mini garden” in the consumer’s refrigerator. This format allows the sprouts to continue living and maintain nutritional integrity until the moment they are eaten, he said.
The sprouts’ distinction from its conventional packaged produce counterpart is both visual and functional.
“There’s fresh, and then there’s alive,” Rota said, and the campaign’s goal is to help consumers understand that difference.
On shelf, Wild About Sprouts’ message is clear, literally. The sprouts are packaged in a transparent recyclable clamshell where the roots and living plant are visible – a feature that the brand describes internally as a “little greenhouse,” where the sprouts are not just harvested, but still actively growing. The brand’s portfolio includes sprouted clover, clover and broccoli, alfalfa, broccoli and kale and clover and alfalfa.
The differentiated packaging also translates into better performance on the shelf. Because the sprouts remain alive, they maintain a shelf life two to three times longer than standard packaged greens, addressing a major consumer pain point around food waste and spoilage, Hague said.
Beyond freshness, the campaign connects to a broader shift in consumer demand for nutrient density and functional benefits, driven by trends like GLP-1 weight loss drugs and the food as medicine movement that emphasize food’s impact on overall health.
‘That level beyond fresh creates curiosity’
The campaign is a digital-first national rollout, slated to launch in the next three months, Rota explained.
At its core, the campaign’s focus is to educate consumers, not just about what live sprouts are, but how to use them beyond the traditional garnish or sandwich topping.
Hague emphasized the campaign reframes sprouts as a standalone snack, salad base, bowl and meal topping and functional additions across multiple dayparts.
The campaign leans heavily into social and video platforms, in addition to in-store activations that let the sprouts do the work of demonstrating “aliveness” by showing the roots, Rota said.
As Rota suggests, the product itself does much of the storytelling and the campaign simply amplifies it.
“We’re not inventing a complicated health claim. We’re reframing the category in one sentence, ‘there’s fresh then there’s alive.’ So, the challenge is the assumption. Everyone assumes fresh is the best, but our line says maybe there’s another level beyond fresh,” which creates curiosity, he explained.
Keeping the mission ‘alive’
The campaign also ties into Ra Foods’ broader mission around nutrition education and access, particularly for younger generations.
The company’s Living Nutrition Fund, supports its broader mission to improve how youth understand and interact with fresh, nutrient-dense foods.
As part of that effort, the Living Nutrition Garden program, created in collaboration with produce supplier Green Giant Fresh, provides children hands-on food and nutrition education.
