Making Breakfast The Nutritional Hero: The Breakfast Research Institute

Client: Quaker / Tropicana

Category: Food and Beverage Companies

Background

There are multiple known health benefits from consuming breakfast on a regular basis. The foods typically consumed at breakfast, such as whole grain cereals (such as oatmeal) and 100% juices (e.g. Tropicana Orange Juice and Grapefruit Juice) offer great nutritional value per calorie consumed. The consumption of whole grain breakfast cereals has also been shown to lower the risk of heart disease, diabetes and the metabolic syndrome. The consumption of 100% fruit juices allows individuals to meet half of their fruit requirements for the Dietary Guidelines at the breakfast meal alone. While the Dietary Guidelines for Americans do not specifically address the issue of breakfast consumption, it is very difficult to meet these Guidelines without consuming breakfast. Quaker and Tropicana are two of the most widely respected and credible consumer brands in the world. Both are typically consumed at breakfast. Quaker and Tropicana formed a collaborative partnership with Rippe Lifestyle Institute to generate a high level, scientifically credible website from professionals to professionals called the Breakfast Research Institute. Starting in 2005, RLI research, writing and web design teams worked closely with scientists and executives at Quaker and Tropicana to create a highly credible professional to professional website for the Breakfast Research Institute.

The website was BreakfastResearchInstitute.org. Over the next 15 months the RLI web design and content teams continued to work closely with professionals at Quaker and Tropicana to develop an information rich site where nutrition professionals will come for credible, non-biased information concerning the known or suspected health benefits of consuming breakfast on a regular basis. In 2006 and 2007, Dr. Rippe and other leaders from RLI, Quaker and Tropicana made over 15 presentations at multiple, professional meetings to spread the word about the Breakfast Research Institute. All told, these presentations were made to over 10,000 nutrition and healthcare professionals.

The RLI team also helped with the selection of the Scientific Advisory Council for the Breakfast Research Institute. The SAC included credible experts in health and nutrition including Dr. James Anderson from the University of Kentucky, Dr. Johanna Dwyer from Tufts University, Dr. Theresa Nicklas from Baylor University and Sylvia Rowe, former President of the International Food Information Council.

The formal launch of the Breakfast Research Institute was made at the International Meeting of the American Dietetic Association in October 2007 in front of a packed audience of over 600 nutrition professionals who are members of the American Dietetic Association. The RLI team continues to work with executives at Quaker and Tropicana on a daily basis to refine, enhance and expand the Breakfast Research Institute.

Results

The Breakfast Research Institute has become the "go to" source of information for the nutrition professional community. Hundreds of downloads of slide presentations and other materials from the Breakfast Research Institute occur on a monthly basis. RLI continues to trade web usage as the site continues to expand. In December 2007, the Breakfast Research Institute debuted the Breakfast Calculator allowing nutrition professionals to provide accurate nutritional analyses of various breakfast choices to their clients.