The Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council, which directs the state’s soybean checkoff resources, recently launched a new marketing campaign highlighting the value-added use of its “miracle bean.”

The Stepping Up campaign, in collaboration with Skechers, promotes the shoe manufacturer’s soy-based GO shoes while supporting local health care professionals.

Minnesota’s 44 county boards — no other state has an organized county soybean program — are eligible to donate up to 50 pairs of Skechers soy-based GO shoes to local health care facilities, such as hospitals, clinics, nursing homes and assisted living facilities. County program leaders are in the process of reaching out to local facilities.

“We know how much health care workers sacrifice for others in communities throughout Minnesota, especially in the past couple of years. I’ve seen it firsthand,” says Joe Serbus, council chair. His wife, Doreen, has worked in health care for more than 40 years. “This campaign is an investment in both value-added soybean products and in the selfless health care professionals who keep us safe and healthy,” he says.

The statewide effort strives to inform both the farming and nonfarming public on soy’s environmental advantages and the myriad uses of soybean oil, according to MSR&PC. The Skechers GO shoes, along with other soy-based products, reduce the use of petroleum, helping to improve our environmental footprint and add value to soybean farmers’ bottom lines.

As an added incentive to the marketing campaign, MSR&PC is inviting the public to get involved and thank front-line workers, too.

Through Aug. 4, the council encourages farmers and consumers to nominate a health care hero in their community via the Stepping Up nomination form. From those nominations, the council will select 20 health care personnel, and the winning nominees will receive a free pair of soy-based shoes.

“This nomination period is another way the council can salute those health care workers who are stepping up in their communities,” says Tom Slunecka, MSR&PC CEO.

A step above the rest

In 2020, Skechers released its GO line of footwear, which uses soybean oil to improve grip, stability and durability. Skechers is using the same checkoff-supported technology featured in Goodyear Tire Co.’s line of sustainable soy-based tires, which incorporated soy into its rubber technology.

Kurt Stockbridge, Skechers vice president of product development and innovation, says the company and the soybean checkoff are combining forces to create a superior shoe and reduce their respective environmental footprints.

“Discovering ways to make product more sustainable is top of mind for Skechers,” Stockbridge says. “Though we were aware of the sustainable qualities of soybean oil, we were surprised to learn what the oil could do to improve our outsole rubber performance.”

For each dollar soybean farmers pay toward checkoff resources, growers receive $12.34 in return value, according to the United Soybean Board.

More than 1,000 commercially available products — ranging from shoes to machinery lubricants to asphalt — use commodity and high-oleic soybean oil.

“Once that soybean hits the mill, it’s local, it’s national — it’s everywhere,” says Belinda Burrier, a United Soybean director in Union Bridge, Md., who helped oversee the partnership with Skechers. “The money farmers make back on the checkoff is fantastic.”

Learn more about the campaign at mnsoybean.org/stepping-up.

Source: Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council, which is solely responsible for the information provided and is wholly owned by the source. Informa Business Media and all of its subsidiaries are not responsible for any of the content contained in this information asset. Paula Mohr added to this story.