Premiering July 15 for Coral Reef Awareness Week, the series highlights the global Sheba Hope Grows™ program, supporting coral restoration across 11 countries
FRANKLIN, Tenn., July 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — As part of their longtime commitment to supporting the restoration of coral reefs around the globe, SHEBA® premium cat food, proudly part of the Mars family of brands, is releasing a new video series today — the first day of Coral Reef Awareness Week — called “Growing Hope in Hawaiʻi,” starring Hawaiian-born actress Auliʻi Cravalho. The series follows the cat mom and ocean advocate back home in Hawaiʻi, catching up with fellow SHEBA brand partner, Kuleana Coral Reefs, a nonprofit organization helping to restore and protect Hawaiʻi’s coral reefs and native ecosystem. Together, they highlight how important coral reefs are to the Hawaiian culture and how working to preserve them represents a vital step towards ensuring our oceans have more fish for the future. The importance of coral reefs cannot be underestimated. While they take up less than 0.1% of the ocean floor, they are depended on by 25% of all marine species, and one billion people worldwide rely on them for their livelihood and protection1.
Growing Hope in Hawaiʻi
“Growing Hope in Hawaiʻi” will show viewers over three episodes why healthy coral reefs are important to the Hawaiian environment, culture and local communities, the impactful work that Kuleana is doing to restore their local reefs, and the scalable solutions Mars has created to drive impact globally through its Sheba Hope Grows™ program. The first episode dropped today on the SHEBA brand’s social channels and SHEBA.com/Sustainability, with the next two following throughout the rest of Coral Reef Awareness Week.
“I’ve always had a strong love and respect for the ocean, growing up in Hawaiʻi. It’s what truly connects us across the world, and I was raised to understand that we are the stewards of our natural world and need to protect it,” said Cravalho. “After working with the SHEBA brand and Kuleana Coral Reefs last year, I was moved to pursue getting my scuba certification, so that I can spend more time enjoying the beauty of the ocean and continue to learn more about how we can help preserve our reefs. I am certain that this second year of our partnership will continue to inspire people that there is hope. The SHEBA brand has implemented scalable solutions for coral reef restoration and is driving momentum toward a plentiful, sustainable fish population for years to come, especially in my Hawaiian home.”
Over the last two years, the SHEBA brand has donated $1 million to Kuleana to support their efforts to restore damaged coral reefs around Hawaiʻi. The SHEBA brand and Kuleana’s joint efforts to regrow coral are vital to the marine ecosystems and biodiversity in Hawaiʻi, while also benefiting the local people and communities. Healthier coral means more fish and vibrant beauty across the reefs, which can help support local fishers tourism and businesses on the islands.
“Meaningful support from the SHEBA brand has helped us expand our impact and operations across the archipelago of Hawaiʻi,” said Kapono Kaluhiokalani, Co-Founder and Director of Outreach at Kuleana Coral Reefs. “Our collaboration has also helped with training efforts, safety equipment purchases and community outreach. We’re grateful to work with a partner who shares our goals of restoring abundant reef ecosystems and inspiring others that there’s hope to preserve Hawaiʻi’s coral reefs for current and future generations.”
Growing Hope Globally
The partnership with Kuleana is part of the brand’s global Sheba Hope Grows™ program, which currently has 63 restoration sites in 11 countries — an increase from 30 sites in 10 countries over the past year — across five continents, including the iconic Great Barrier Reef, Mexico and Kenya.
“While we know cats love fish, we also recognize that we have a responsibility to minimize our impact on the planet, which is why we’re so proud of the global impact our Sheba Hope Grows™ program is making,” said Jean-Paul Jansen, Chief Marketing Officer, Mars Pet Nutrition North America. “Through this program, we work with expert partners across the globe who share our dedication to restoring coral reefs, like Kuleana in Hawaiʻi, to combat the devastation that reefs are facing.”
Over the last 30 years, the world’s reefs have lost 50% of their coral cover due to devastating factors like climate change, land use changes, destructive fishing practices and water pollution1, so drastic interventions are needed now. That’s why Mars spent more than a decade developing and implementing a holistic approach to coral reef restoration called MARRS: Mars Assisted Reef Restoration System. The hero of this approach is the reef stars, hexagonal structures planted in webs across large areas of dead coral, providing a strong platform for new coral to grow within a few years. The new coral can eventually grow to cover the reef stars, which become fully integrated into the reef and create new habitats for marine life, encouraging the settlement of more native corals and bringing the entire reef back to life.
Globally so far, Mars and its partners through the Sheba Hope Grows™ program have planted more than 90,000 reef stars across their 63 sites in 11 countries, restoring 112,000 square meters (1.2 million square feet) of reefs. Kuleana hopes to implement the reef star technology in Hawaiʻi to see the positive impact they could have on their local reefs.
To help rally awareness and support for coral reef restoration, the SHEBA brand released a limited-edition, 24-count variety pack, featuring artwork of a healthy coral reef on the box and a QR code to learn more about the brand’s commitment to coral restoration. As cat parents purchase this variety pack, they are playing an important role in supporting the brand’s global mission to restore coral reefs around the world, including the Kuleana partnership in Hawaiʻi.
To learn more about the brand’s commitment to coral reef restoration, watch “Growing Hope in Hawaiʻi” and purchase the limited-edition variety pack, visit SHEBA.com/Sustainability and follow the brand on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.
About the SHEBA® Brand
The SHEBA® brand knows that cat owners love cats for their independent spirits, individual personalities and discerning palates. That’s why the SHEBA brand puts cats at the heart of everything it does, creating premium recipes designed to entice cats’ unique tastes and desires with irresistible real meat, fish or poultry and no artificial flavors. The SHEBA brand appreciates the relationship between cats and their owners and uses that understanding to celebrate and fuel their unique bond. Look for SHEBA premium cat and kitten food and cat treats at retailers nationwide. For more information, visit www.sheba.com.
About Mars Petcare
Part of Mars, Incorporated, a family-owned business with more than a century of history making diverse products and offering services for people and the pets people love, the 85,000 Associates across 50+ countries in Mars Petcare are dedicated to one purpose: A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS™. With 85 years of experience, our portfolio of almost 50 brands serves the health and nutrition needs of the world’s pets – including brands PEDIGREE®, WHISKAS®, ROYAL CANIN®, NUTRO™, GREENIES™, SHEBA®, CESAR®, IAMS™ and EUKANUBA™, as well as the Waltham Petcare Science Institute that has advanced research in the nutrition and health of pets for over 50 years. Mars Petcare is also a leading veterinary health provider through an international network of over 2,000 pet hospitals and diagnostic services including BANFIELD™, BLUEPEARL™, VCA™, Linnaeus, AniCura and Antech. We’re also active in innovation and technology for pets, with WISDOM PANEL™ genetic health screening and DNA testing for dogs, the WHISTLE™ GPS dog tracker, and LEAP VENTURE STUDIO accelerator and COMPANION FUND programs that drive innovation and disruption in the pet care industry. As a family business and guided by our principles, we are privileged with the flexibility to fight for what we believe in – and we choose to fight for our Purpose: A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS.
About Kuleana Coral
Kuleana Coral Restoration is a group of fishermen, surfers, and ocean advocates working to restore, protect, and monitor Hawaiian coral reefs using modern science and indigenous management techniques. Guided by the knowledge of coastal communities and our kuleana (responsibility) to the ocean, the nonprofit organization develops scalable restoration methods unique to Hawai’i to sustain what sustains us: the reef. To learn more or donate visit www.kuleanacoral.org.
CONTACTS:
Jonathan E. Bayless
Mars Petcare
[email protected]
Jaime Castile
Weber Shandwick
[email protected]
1 The Journey to a Million Corals 2023 Impact Report
SOURCE The SHEBA® Brand
