Fresh Times – Edition 1, 2020
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Editor’s Note: IYFV2021
This year has been designated by the UN as the International Year of Fruits and Vegetables (IYFV). The IYFV 2021 is a unique opportunity to raise awareness of the important role of fruits and vegetables in nutrition, food security and health as well as in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals. While FAO is the lead agency for celebrating the year, all actors in the fresh fruit and vegetable community is welcome to promote the IYFV and organise initiatives to raise global awareness of fruit and vegetable consumption. Look out for the next edition of the Fresh Times in April.
Europe: #SpeakUp4FruitVeg
2021 is the International Year of Fruits and Vegetables! To support and celebrate this special year, Freshfel Europe is running a digital campaign, #SpeakUp4FruitVeg’. Launched in January and set to run throughout 2021, the campaign is targeted at EU decision-makers to better support the sector in EU policy-making. Through regular posts on its social media accounts (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook) Freshfel Europe hopes to boost support for the sector by EU decision-makers in policy making for the sector, including European Commission officials, Members of the European Parliament and Member State representatives. All information about the campaign is available via the campaign launch press release.
Germany: Enjoy longer
The EDEKA group and Apeel are working together to reduce food waste in Germany. EDEKA has launched a new information campaign ‘Enjoy longer, throw away less’, about the innovative Apeel process. Apeel products use a plant-based protective cover to double the shelf life of fresh produce and help contribute prevent waste at retail and in the home. The campaign will include a high visibility TV spot to showcase EDEKA’s products using Apeel including avocadoes, oranges, mandarins, clementines, grapefruits and lemons. The campaign is also set to run on social media supplemented with brochures and posters at point of sale.
Netherlands: #veggiesfirst
The Dutch are the third worst vegetable eaters in Europe and The Greenery has launched a new campaign to change this! The objective of the new campaign ‘#veggiesfirst’ is to get people to first think about which vegetables they would like to eat for a certain meal, then to decide what type of dish they want to make, followed by the other ingredients they’ll need. Prioritizing vegetables is intended to help raise awareness of vegetable consumption. The campaign will be supported by 32 influencers who will inspire Dutch people to eat more vegetables by sharing recipes and tips and tricks online.
Italy: Flavours of apples
In recent years the apple product range has expanded. VIP is helping consumers decipher the different and modern flavours of emerging apple varieties through a new platform ‘La Saporeria’. In doing so VIP has given the apple a new visual and textual representation by revolutionizing communication by evoking emotions and associations. The Platform will feature a new apple guide, ‘TrovaMela’, which has also been created to better help consumers decipher apple taste rather relying on fruit colour. La Saporeria will also be a point-of-sale format that VIP will share with retail partners with the goal of increasing the value of apples.
UK: Stone fruit sales
For the 13th consecutive year Hortgro is teaming up with UK retailers to shower the health benefits of South African stone fruit. The UK is the second most popular destination for South African stone fruit after the rest of Europe. Increased consumer focus on health during the COVID-19 pandemic has boosted sales and Hortgro is building upon this. In store, retailers will be leveraging seasonal promotions, on-pack labels and recipe tear-off talkers to drive sales. In addition to in-store promotions, marketing efforts will be focused online. Targeted online advertising will be used to reach out to customers who do their shopping online.
Spain: Lemon age art
Ailimpo’s campaign ‘Welcome to the Lemon Age’, has embarked on a new initiative – a travelling lemon art exhibition in collaboration with Grupo Proarte y cultura. Eight European artists from Spain, France and Germany have created lemon sculptures with each sculpture artistically decorated. Over the course of the campaign the lemon sculptures will be exhibited on the streets of Spain, France and Germany to highlight love for lemons and art. The campaign is also encouraging people to take pictures with the lemons for social media with the hashtag #actitudlimon and a competition to guess the weight of the sculptures is also running.
France: Global F&V Newsletter
Aprifel has recently released their 60th edition of their Global F&V Newsletter. The first edition of the Global F&V Newsletter was released in May 2006. Since then, every month Aprifel has release a new edition on a specific health and nutrition topic concerning fruit and vegetable consumption. Each edition features summaries of recent scientific studies and papers on consumption and health aspects. Available in English and French, the newsletter is distributed widely to the global fruit and vegetable community and has a topical focus. The latest edition featured studies on changes in food consumption behaviours due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ireland: Fyffes’ new look
Fyffes has launched a new website! The new web page is centred on facilitating user experience and navigation, making it easier for customers to find the information they need about Fyffes’ products and the company’s responsible business practices. In the redesigning process, Fyffes interviewed employees, retailers, NGOs, media and surveyed consumers to find out what information was most important to them and what they expected from a fresh produce label website. Navigability and ease of search came out as the most wanted attributes along with transparency and accountability. The website is available in English, Russian and Spanish, with German coming soon.
Italy: New Marlene
To celebrate the International Year of Fruit and Vegetables Marlene apples have a new look. The new design was the winner of a digital contest to create an image that evoked the world of Marlene apples. The winning design was chosen from over 6,000 entries from 36 countries. More than 100 million apples will now feature a nymph against the natural backdrop of Marlene’s alpine home in Italy. In-store activities will also take place, including art exhibitions, point-of-purchase material and special positioning. Marlene’s new identity will also be promoted through a high-impact international campaign on TV, in the traditional press and on line.
Europe: Consumer decisions
The Institute of Grocery Distribution (IGD) has recently released a new Appetite for Change report, which focuses on fruit and vegetable consumption prevention and obstacles. In their study IGD identified that consumers simply don’t know how to utilize or cook fruit and vegetables and that consumers have a strong belief that they’re not exciting products to eat. IGD’s report illustrates how these real and perceived purchasing and consumption barriers could be overcome, including positive signage, especially relating to health, as well as ensuring that the fruit and vegetable products constantly look fresh. IGD additionally noted the increasing importance of influencers in swaying shoppers in fresh produce.
UK: Keep calm
Eurofruit Magazine released an innovative cover for its February 2021 edition with the slogan ‘Keep calm and buy fruit and veg’. Eurofruit received a very positive response with the message resonating with operators along the whole supply chain and consumers. The cover plays on the words of the classic British slogan ‘Keep calm and carry on’. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic fruit and vegetables have remained popular as essential elements of a balanced and healthy diet. The February edition also included a free poster of the cover and the cover was also available to download for free online in A4 and A3 formats.