Monica Clem, one of the newest additions to Wholesome Sweeteners growing marketing group, explains that her passion for organic and sustainable foods began while she was in college.
Originally from El Paso, Texas, Monica attended St. Edwards University in Austin. While at St. Edwards, Monica began working for the Austin Farmers Market, an organization under the umbrella of the Sustainable Food Center (SFC). SFC is a non-profit dedicated to creating opportunities for individuals to make healthy food choices and to participate in a vibrant local food system through organic food gardening, relationships with area farmers, interactive cooking classes and nutrition education. She worked with the farmers market for two years, starting off as an intern but after quickly proving her abilities, she was hired on permanently.
She admits that she gave her “blood, sweat and tears” to the farmers market. While her college friends were getting ready to go out on Friday night, she was going to bed at 9 p.m. since she had to be up on Saturday morning at 3 a.m. to help with the set up at the market.
“I don’t regret those early mornings because this was the beginning of my love for sustainable and organic foods,” says Monica. “I developed a great respect for those small farmers that were trying to make a living off farming. It made it all worthwhile when a farmer would tell me that because of the farmers market, they were able to support their family.”
As the Marketing Communications Coordinator for Wholesome Sweeteners, Monica is responsible for a multitude of activities. She manages the company’s web presence including overseeing all of its online social media efforts that allow the brand to better engage with its customers through such popular social media networks like Facebook and Twitter.
Monica explains that social media provides the company with an opportunity to increase the visibility of the brand and communicate with consumers one on one. She explains how a customer may visit the Wholesome Sweeteners website and decide to try one of the posted recipes. The customer may then go to the company’s Facebook page or send a tweet asking a question about the recipe, like what is the conversion for different types of sweeteners.
According to Monica, the challenge is to respond in a timely manner. “Members of the marketing department take turns monitoring our social media outlets and responding to any inquiries,” Monica states.” Someone in the department is connected at every point during the day. We can’t always reply immediately but we make the utmost effort to reply to all customer requests by the end of each day.”
She points out that this interaction with the customer via social media networks provides a great perspective in real time on who the customers are and what products they are using.
Monica shares that the company also attempts to offer its social media followers information on a broad range of topics that promote a lifestyle that is aligned with the company’s philosophy like organics, non-GMO verified products, Fair Trade and sustainability, to name a few.
Currently, Monica is preparing for National Fair Trade Month in October. Wholesome Sweeteners is working with Fair Trade USA to educate the public on Fair Trade and the benefits of purchasing Fair Trade products. She explains that it is important to let the public know that Fair Trade is not about giving aid to these farmers but is a means to provide them with a fair premium for their products that allows them to provide for their families and help build schools, health clinics, and roads.
She gives one of many examples of how the Fair Trade premiums that Wholesome Sweeteners paid to its partners in Africa helped bring clean drinking water to the farming village. She adds that stories like this will serve as a powerful motivator for consumers to purchase Fair Trade because they can make a direct impact on the lives of farmers and their families in developing countries as well as encourage environmentally-friendly farming practices that benefit everyone.
“This is one of the largest marketing efforts that Fair Trade USA has offered and we are excited to be a part of it,” says Monica. “There is an ongoing opportunity to educate consumers about organics and Fair Trade as well as about the Wholesome Sweeteners brand. For instance, consumers, especially in more rural areas may not be able to buy our products at their local supermarket but we can tell them where they can purchase our sweeteners online.”
She mentions that 36 percent of consumers know about Fair Trade products so a goal has been set to increase this number to 40 percent through Fair Trade month.
Outside of work, Monica and her husband stay busy with their 13-month old daughter. Monica tries to purchase organic and all-natural foods as much as possible to feed her family. It’s a zeal she developed when she began working with the farmers market in Austin. She proudly admits that they are feeding their daughter only organic and natural foods. They are so committed to doing this that they made their own baby food until recently when their daughter began eating solid foods.
Monica confesses that she and her husband are “foodies” and cook frequently and also enjoy trying out new restaurants in Houston’s vibrant dining scene. She proudly puts forward that food is a centerpiece of her family’s life and is a wonderful way to bring family and friends together. They spend so much time in the kitchen that she and her husband built their dream kitchen.
“Wholesome Sweeteners was such a natural fit for me,” Monica says with a smile. “Joining Wholesome is like returning to those amazing days when I was working for the farmers market and I couldn’t be happier.”-Carlos Arcos
