Valda Coryat of the National Mango Board to Speak at United Fresh BrandStorm Conference

Orlando, Fla – The National Mango Board’s (NMB) Director of Marketing, Valda Coryat, will share the brand-building story of mangos in the U.S. at the 4th annual United Fresh BrandStorm™ Conference, February 20-22, 2019 in San Francisco, CA.

Coryat will present alongside Janet Helm, EVP, Chief Food and Nutrition Strategist at Weber Shandwick, the communications firm for the NMB. Together, they are presenting a session entitled “How Brands Behave Today:  What Fresh Produce Marketers Can Learn from Food Companies.” They’ll address the new rules of brand storytelling, review the ways brands act differently today, and offer inspiration for new brand-building strategies for produce marketers. The session will focus on how produce marketers can position and differentiate their brands to deliver an enhanced value proposition.

“I’m thrilled to have an opportunity to share the journey we’ve been on to bring the world’s love of mangos to the U.S.,” said Coryat, who joined the NMB in 2017 with an extensive background in consumer marketing. “Our brand positioning for mangos is the Super Fun, Superfruit, and for the last year we’ve been focused on changing what people think and feel about mangos. Our goal is to move from exotic to every day.”

Coryat has been instrumental in designing and managing the new NMB initiatives and campaigns for the consumer, retail, foodservice and nutrition programs that drive mango demand and consumption. She brings a wealth of marketing experience with over 20 years in consumer-packaged goods, building brands, launching award winning innovation and activating consumer inspired multi-media campaigns most notably at Heineken and the Colgate-Palmolive Company. She will review the approach the NMB is using to treat mangos as a brand, including creating a brand voice and personality, appealing on an emotional level, and connecting to culture.

Helm is the Chief Food and Nutrition Strategist in North America for Weber Shandwick, where she provides strategic counsel to a variety of food clients – including some of the company’s best-loved food brands and food industry organizations. She is skilled at creating strategic alliances, engaging nutrition influencers, leveraging scientific research, developing and testing messages, and building public education campaigns. At the conference, she will share her years of industry learnings and go to market strategies that have resulted in successful campaigns.

For more information, visit http://www.unitedfreshbrandstorm.org/.

About the National Mango Board

The National Mango Board is an agriculture promotion group supported by assessments from both domestic and imported mangos. The board’s vision, for mangos to move from being an exotic fruit to a daily necessity in every U.S. household, was designed to drive awareness and consumption of fresh mangos in the U.S. marketplace. One cup of the superfruit mango contains 100 calories, 100% of daily vitamin C, 35% of daily vitamin A, 12% of daily fiber, and an amazing source of tropical flavor. Learn more at mango.org.

About Weber Shandwick

Weber Shandwick is a leading global communications and engagement firm in 80 cities across 34 countries, with a network extending to 128 cities in 81 countries. The firm deploys deep expertise across sectors and specialty areas, including consumer marketing, corporate reputation, healthcare, technology, public affairs, financial services, employee engagement, social impact, financial communications and crisis management, using proprietary social, digital and analytics methodologies. Weber Shandwick is part of the Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG). For more information, visit www.webershandwick.com.