Although Foodland works with all agricultural sectors, efforts are concentrated in the area of fresh fruits and vegetables since this area is subject to the greatest challenge in the market and has a limited ability to respond due to resource restrictions.

To achieve its market objective, Foodland communicates the benefits (economic and product characteristics) of Ontario produce, encourages the purchase of Ontario produce, co-ordinates promotion and research activities with producer organizations and industry stakeholder, and promotes the Ontario "brand." The target group for these strategies are the primary and secondary food purchasers in Ontario.

Foodland Ontario consists of five program components: consumer advertising, retail marketing, public relations, trade (client) liaison, and market research. All components work in a complementary fashion to address a common target market, the primary and secondary food purchaser.

During the life of the Foodland program, the target market has evolved from the "principal grocery shopper" - mothers 25 to 49 years, to adults 25 to 64 years. The latter definition includes both males and females and reflects recent research that food buying is a shared activity - many households have two "principal grocery shoppers."

When the Foodland program began, the advertising message informed consumers of the wide variety and availability of Ontario-grown food products. Both the theme line "Good things grow in Ontario" and the Foodland Ontario symbol encouraged consumers to buy Ontario by promoting and identifying quality Ontario products. The advertising message evolved further to include economic benefits and commodity specific attributes.

In 1986, the slogan "Good things grow in Ontario" gave way to the more competitive slogan "Ontario, there's no taste like home" in order to better communicate the single most important Ontario food benefit - taste. Consumer communications have involved a two-pronged promotion approach - focusing on "taste" through commodity-specific messages and a "local/home" message.

The introduction of Foodland's television commercials in 1997 supported a two pronged strategy, the first of which reinforced the attributes of buying fresh, high quality, locally grown produce and introduced the new theme "Invite Ontario home for dinner" These commercials expanded Ontario's close and local message to mean more than distance (e.g. shared values, strong community and trust).

The second stage of this campaign builds on the attributes of buying fresh, locally grown, high quality produce. It focuses on the more subtle element of trust. Trust refers to trust in Ontario farmers, in their products and in their contribution to the fabric of Ontario's society and economy.

Retail marketing identifies and promotes Ontario foods in grocery stores through the distribution of point-of-purchase material and in-store promotions to 1600 stores across the province by Foodland retail representatives. Thanks to full retailer support, food stores continue to be the main source of awareness of the Foodland Ontario symbol. An annual retailer awards program recognizes the contribution of retailers to the program.

The public relations area encourages media support for Ontario-grown food products through the development and distribution of media releases, newsletters and broadcast appearances. Consumer publications and other promotional activities are also developed to support Ontario food products.

In trade liaison, Foodland Ontario works closely with commodity groups and associations to share information, encourage co-operation and participation in specific activities and use of the Foodland symbol in their own marketing efforts.

Market research is the foundation of the strategic approach. This research is shared actively with clients through trade liaison efforts. As part of marketing research, and since the program inception, an advertising tracking study has been conducted annually to measure the success of the program. Results from studies since 2000, show that well over 80% of targeted consumers recognize the Foodland Ontario symbol, over 80% have a propensity to buy Ontario and over 80% approve of the Foodland Ontario Program.