By Noor Abduljabbar

Silk is continuing the buzz created by its out of home “bee hotel” billboards.

This year, Silk is collaborating with non-profit Pollinator Partnership Canada and local merchants to launch the “Silk Bee Line” in Montreal. It’s a path of unique flower patches along the city’s Place de Castelnau neighbourhood that helps traveling pollinators hop from one green space to another safely.

“Part of our mission is to support health through food and this initiative is a way to show our commitment to regenerative agriculture practices and using our scale for good,” says Fiona O’Brien, marketing director at Silk parent company Danone Canada.

According to Pollinator Partnership insights, one out of every three bites of food Canadians eat was grown because of pollinators. But the pollinator population is in decline in urban areas, partially due to loss of connectivity of flower patches, the organization notes, as they depend on “flower routes” to get around, just as humans depend on roads and sidewalks.

Throughout the opening of the “Bee Line” last weekend, visitors were given wildflower seeds to encourage them to participate in the initiative by planting their own flower patches to make their own contribution to the “Bee Line.” Additionally, local coffee shop Café Larue offered a complimentary coffee made with Silk Almond Beverage.

Over the last two years, Danone and its Silk brand have installed 30 “bee hotels” in their billboards across Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver as a part of its sustainability positioning. The campaign received wide success – the hotels are returning this year – but O’Brien says the brand was excited to do something bigger this year.

As much as they are about helping pollinators, the bee-centric campaigns also have Canadians in mind when it comes to target audience.

“When we talk about plant-based eating, we talk about it being for all. This is around opening the hearts and minds to plant-based eating and through all of the different ways,” says O’Brien, referring Silk’s marketing approach of making plant-based foods more accessible. “One of the real core reasons that people choose plant-based is really rooted in the movement around the environment and around protection of ecosystems.”

O’Brien adds that it is also grounded in the broader Danone organization’s commitment to regenerative agriculture. “We believe in the power of plants to do better for people and the planet and we know that without pollinators none of that is possible.” O’Brien explains. “So, this isn’t just a campaign. It’s actually a way of working.”

In 2018, Danone Canada attained B Corp status, a designation that a business is meeting high standards of verified performance, accountability, and transparency when it comes to being better for the planet. Silk also has the only almond beverage  that is Bee Friendly Farming Certified in Canada.

The campaign will run through the summer, ending in October. Mint, Wavemaker and Carl Social Club are the agency partners supporting the campaign.