As feeds skew darker and stress levels climb, Kind sees an
opportunity — and a responsibility — to make kindness feel practical again. As part of World Kindness Day, the brand is rolling out “Choose Kind,” a movement that ties
emotional wellbeing to nutrition and everyday choices. Osher Hoberman, CMO of the Mars-owned brand, breaks down the research, the audience strategy and the refresh behind the campaign.
This
interview has been edited for length and clarity.
CPG Insider: You’ve talked before about three core audience segments for KIND. How have those evolved? What drove the
changes?
Osher Hoberman: Kindness is in short supply right now, maybe more than ever. And the generation we hope to attract wants to restore faith in humanity, and they believe the
right way is with kindness. So from a cultural and societal standpoint, this has been the right opportunity to think about how we evolve.
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We spent a good half of this year on research,
sharpening our audience persona. We’re focused on three: mindful families, Gen Z on the go, and health-conscious young professionals. We pulled on the behaviors and preferences of about 250
million people and feel we have a sharper understanding of all three. We did such deep ethnographies that we started joking about life in the kindness swamp.
CPG Insider: Say more about
the research. Is the world actually less kind, or does it just feel that way?
Hoberman: That’s a great question, and it's going to be critical for us to determine our impact as
a purpose-led brand. Admittedly, we don't have a clear view yet on how you can measure kindness. I wouldn’t say the world is less kind, or that people perceive it that way. But people see their
own social media feeds — and the algorithms themselves — as serving up more negative content. That’s why our social activations are such a critical component of the way we bring
“Choose Kind” to life.
They also told us life’s problems are big and overwhelming, whether they're geopolitical or climate or economic. And that the small choices we make
won't have a big impact, either for ourselves or others. That was a really powerful insight.
CPG Insider: How did you land on the link between nutrition, emotional well-being and
kindness?
Hoberman: Historically, Kind has focused on different versions of kindness, but we were never able to find the link between both kindness and commercial opportunity. With
the idea that you can choose Kind to be good to yourself, consumers see a connection between eating well and feeling good. Kind lets them do that. We bring that to life with “Choose Kind,”
which is more than a slogan. It's a call to action.
CPG Insider: World Kindness Day hits at an
unkind moment, with 42 million Americans dealing with cuts to SNAP benefits and food donation drives everywhere. Will that influence how this effort lands?
Hoberman: It will. When we
talk to young people, they see nutrition and stress as deeply connected. Eating well is emotionally uplifting. For this year’s effort, we’ve partnered with three influencers, and one
— Kristin Kish, head of “Top Chef” — is very focused on this, mentoring youth via culinary efforts. And we’re continuing to donate a lot of Kind products to different
organizations.
CPG Insider: What else does this new campaign include?
Hoberman: We recently launched a redesigned logo and new packaging graphics, and we're getting
great responses from consumers on the new visual identity. They love the bold logo, which they say makes it easier to shop for us.
We’re also using more photography. Our clear wrapper was
always about transparency — but now that people are buying more multicount boxes, we’re switching to showing how beautiful the product itself is, and how great it tastes. And along with
Kish, our Kind Champions this year include the NFL’s Justin Herbert and Dylan Efron from “Dancing with the Stars.” They’re all joining the platform and our movement to bring
kindness to the next generation.