Loblaw gave passersby at Yonge-Dundas Square a taste of summer yesterday, with a kick-off activation for its upcoming Eat Fleet Tour.

Targeted primarily at moms aged 25 to 54, the event was executed with Mosaic and saw Loblaw assemble four food vans to grill up free grub and give consumers a chance to sample new Canadian-inspired President’s Choice products, including lamb burgers, Sockeye salmon burgers and scallop sliders.

Food bikes were also on-hand, offering up snacks from other national brands like Coca-Cola, Popsicle and Kashi.

The activation was promoted on Twitter using the hashtags #eatfleet and #setsummerfree.

The upcoming tour, which is slated to run from the last week of May through the first week of June, will also be supported by a special Eat Fleet microsite. Loblaw will travel to about 85 communities and make 300 stops, including guerrilla-style pop-up appearances at events, in-store activations and other scheduled stops.

Nelly Leone, senior manager, experiential marketing, Loblaw, tells MiC that that the Eat Fleet Tour is part of Loblaw’s broader summer marketing strategy to “own grilling season” by showcasing the products it has available.

Leone says the Eat Fleet Tour is designed to build on Loblaw’s past food tours like its travelling ice cream shop, which it has rolled out for the past three years. She adds that Loblaw’s decided to expand this year’s tour to include both President’s Choice and other national brands to make the experience more robust for consumers.