Jersey Fresh: Modernizing a State Program into a Public Discovery Platform

We redesigned Jersey Fresh into a mobile-first discovery experience—easy to search, easy to manage, and built to keep communities connected to NJ-grown.

Project snapshot

  • Client: New Jersey Department of Agriculture
  • Year: 2018

Services

The Background

In 1984, the New Jersey Department of Agriculture established Jersey Fresh to provide a quality grading program for produce and promote access to fresh fruits and vegetables grown in New Jersey. Over time, the initiative became a benchmark for other states’ agriculture and marketing programs, with New Jersey now a top producer of blueberries, peaches, bell peppers, cranberries, and tomatoes.

The Jersey Fresh campaign is one of the most successful state branding programs in America, with a study showing a 30-to-1 ROI for the program.

The Problem

The original state-developed website was difficult to maintain on the backend, with numerous technical issues that made updates and periodic redesigns a challenge. On the front end, it wasn’t user-friendly, making it hard for consumers to find where fresh, locally grown products were available across the Garden State.

The State and its agency-of-record sought Key Medium’s expertise to radically rethink the new website and deliver a sustainable, user-centered digital platform.

Our Solutions

We created a modern, user-centered platform to help consumers discover and support local farms:

Discovery & Strategy:

  • Conducted stakeholder interviews with farmers, consumers, retailers, and state marketing staff
  • Mapped user journeys for consumers looking for products and farm locations
  • Developed content strategy showcasing products, availability, and farm stories

Information Architecture & Design:

  • Redesigned IA to make product discovery simple—search by crop, location, or season
  • Built interactive features: farm location map, produce availability guide, event calendar
  • Designed accessible templates with large text and high contrast for older audiences
  • Created mobile-first experience for on-the-go shopping decisions

WordPress Platform & Training:

  • Migrated from legacy state system to modern, maintainable WordPress
  • Built database-driven product and farm directory enabling easy updates
  • Implemented SEO best practices for government domain (.gov) and custom domain (FindJerseyFresh.com)
  • Trained state staff on content updates and ongoing management
  • Created documentation for future maintenance and feature additions

The Results

The Jersey Fresh platform became a national model for state agriculture marketing:

Reach & Impact:

  • 500,000+ sessions with strong sustained traffic over five years
  • 10,000+ consumers reached within first month showing strong organic discovery
  • 1,000+ local farms linked to consumers through platform
  • Increased shopping for Jersey Fresh products supporting local farmers and economy
  • 30:1 ROI for Jersey Fresh program overall, making it one of America's most successful state agricultural marketing initiatives

Recognition:

  • Three AIVA Honors (Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts)
  • National benchmark for other states' agriculture marketing programs
  • Staff empowerment—state team able to manage content independently, keeping platform fresh

Business Outcomes:

  • Successfully helped New Jersey farmers reach consumers directly
  • Positioned Jersey Fresh brand as mark of quality in regional market
  • Reduced maintenance burden on state IT through modern platform

Results

500k+

Users

ROI

1,000+

Local farms linked

Awards & Recognition

Davey Awards, Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts (AIVA)

Websites – Government · Gold

w3 Awards, Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts (AIVA)

Websites – Eco-friendly · Silver

Communicator Awards, Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts (AIVA)

Websites – User Experience · Digital Distinction