Welch's, Concord, Mass., launched its marketing campaign Tough as Grapes, which focuses on an audience of Gen X men with a tough and gritty look at how Welch's Grape Juice is made with one of the world's “toughest” antioxidants, the company says.

This new brand strategy is backed by research on Gen X males where Welch's uncovered:

• 59 percent of Gen X men report they are the primary grocery shopper
• 73 percent of Gen X men drink juice with breakfast
• 60 percent of Gen X men like the flavor grape

Men are already drinking more juice than women, but they are also more open to the nutritional benefits that juice offers and aware that there is room for improvement in their health, the company says.

"The juice category and shopping behaviors are changing, and we knew it was time to disrupt the category by making a bold move to reinvigorate the juice aisle," said Lesya Lysyj, Welch's President of the U.S., in a statement "After comprehensive research, we discovered that the market potential is with Gen X men, a demographic that loves juice and has emerged as a primary grocery shopper. The Tough as Grapes campaign solidifies our commitment to the modern grocery shopper, while championing the tough antioxidants in our Concord grapes."

There have been more than 75 clinical studies done with the Concord grape over the last decade and these studies show how Concord grape juice can help support a healthy heart, help maintain a healthy immune system, improve exercise performance and positively impact mood, the company says. Welch's crushes the whole Concord grape – skin, seeds and all – to produce a 100 percent juice that is packed with antioxidants and research shows that Concord grape juice contains the benefits that Gen X men find compelling as they start to think more seriously about their health, according to the company.

Welch's is a co-op and 100 percent of profits go back to the 800 family farmers. These farmers work year-round in the Great Lakes, Finger Lakes and Yakima Valley regions to grow the grapes that go into Welch's juice. The farmers are tough, the grapes are tough and the process for making the juice is tough, but it's really the farmers who ultimately inspired this new campaign that Welch's has seen resonate well with both men and women in testing, the company says.

"We are turning a category typically packed with sunshine and smiles on its head to show consumers how grape juice is really made," said Gerry Graf, founder and chief creative officer at Barton F. Graf, in a statement. Barton F. Graf was the creative agency commissioned for the campaign. 

"The machines Welch's workers use are actually called pulverizers and crushers,” Gerry Graf continued. “The grapes are harvested throughout the night during harvest season. The farmers have to prune vines in the snow through the coldest winter months. The Concord grape is raised in the toughest conditions, but it's sweet – a lot like Generation X men. They have a tough exterior and were raised by hard working parents. They pride themselves on persistence and effort. They are tough people and Welch's grape juice can help them to stay tough."