• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, November 3, 2010

Cumberland Packing Corp.'s new campaign for its In The Raw all-natural sweeteners is putting a twist on a familiar approach by tying recipes into humorous takes on human emotions and behavior.

The campaign, taglined "It's Only Natural," aims to convey the versatility of Sugar In The Raw and its zero-calorie counterpart, Stevia Extract In The Raw, by drawing consumers in with lighthearted commentaries on the roles that food plays in our lives.

The campaign's print ads, from the Mother New York ad agency, feature bold, run-on headlines playing on themes of love, loss and indulgence and close-ups of tempting foods and beverages, accompanied by step-by-step recipe copy.

Examples include "Cocoa brownies to heal a heart broken by a man who promises it wasn't you; it was him. And by him he means a girl named Stacey Lee"; "Chocolate chip cookies you'll bake for her birthday that she'll never try because you'll never give them to her because you'll eat them all and phone in some tulips"; and "Spiced iced coffee that has you thinking about the five bucks you spend every day on a coffee you could brew at home but know you never will except for today."

The underlying message: "In The Raw understands the changing reasons in one's choice of sweetener and provides the flexibility to choose, without sacrificing taste, naturalness and quality," sums up Steven Eisenstadt, CEO of Brooklyn, N.Y.-headquartered, family-owned Cumberland Packing Corp., whose product lines also include Sweet'N Low, NatraTaste (Blue and Gold), Sweet One, Nu-Salt and Butter Buds.

Sugar In The Raw, a turbinado sugar made from natural cane, was launched in 1970. Stevia In The Raw, introduced in 2009, claims to be absent of the aftertaste often associated with stevia products, and has shown the fastest growth in unit and dollar sales among the top five nationally branded sugar substitutes during the past 52 weeks, according to SymphonyIRI data cited by Cumberland.

The stevia product is available in a baking-bag package designed for easy use in cooking and baking, as well as in single-serving packaging.