Fresh Times – Edition 3, 2020
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Editor’s Note: The new normal begins
As much of Europe and the remainder of the world is slowly coming out of deconfinement, a new normal begins for the fresh fruit and vegetable sector. This includes navigating new promotion opportunities and adapting old practices to suit the changes lifestyle and wellbeing of people in this period. This issue looks at how companies and associations in the sector have successfully implemented promotion campaigns in this new environment in addition to celebratory campaign milestones for the #400gChallenge and +Brocoli. The next edition of the Fresh Times will be published August – until then, stay safe and keep well.
Europe: #400gChallenge turns one!
Freshfel Europe and Aprifel have celebrated the first birthday of their Europe-wide campaign ‘Follow me to be healthy with Europe’. The joint EU-funded campaign aims to encourage young Europeans to increase their consumption of fruit and vegetables to a minimum of 400g a day through the #400gChallenge, to improve and ultimately transform their dietary habits. As a digital-first initiative, the campaign has generated over 32 million impressions on social media in its first twelve months. Through collaborations with social media influencers the campaign has shown that eating a diet high in fruit and vegetables is easy, healthy and fun!
Scotland: Strawberries & cream
In the last week of June more than 2,500 homes in Scotland were delivered a surprise premium punnet of strawberries along with their usual dairy delivery. The week would have been the beginning of the Wimbledon fortnight and AVA Berries and McQueens Dairies collaborated together to bring a taste of Wimbledon to people’s homes. Traditionally, Wimbledon is one of the key promotional events of the year for strawberries in the UK, where they are eaten courtside with cream. The idea of the initiative was to bring this tradition to people’s homes despite the cancellation of Wimbledon due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Spain: Finally watermelon season!
After months in confinement families across Spain have long awaited the coming of summer and watermelon season. Anecoop is celebrating a successful watermelon season despite the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on agriculture. With many people still buying and preparing a majority of their food themselves, Anecoop has produced a short video demonstrating ways to cut, store and eat watermelon throughout summer. Through research and development Anecoop has an expansive range of watermelons in its Bouquet Stars range ideal for all types of households and this watermelon season Anecoop will market 150,000 tons of watermelon to consumers in 25 countries.
Germany: Be Climate
Port International has released their new climate neutral brand Be Climate, the first brand to offer CO2 neutral fruit and vegetables. Despite the pandemic and the disruption to supply chains it has caused over the last few months, Port International remains focused on the importance of achieving a sustainable and climate neutral future. Strengthening the health of their employees and the environment has become a dual priority for Port International and Be Climate offers consumers an uncomplicated method to actively support climate protection. CO2 emissions from Be Climate products are balanced by internationally recognized carbon offset projects.
Spain: Take care of yourself
In 2020 Zespri decided to make a change to better reflect it purpose and contribute to the prosperity of people, communities and the environment by offering the benefits of kiwi while continuing to increase its participation in the fresh fruit sector globally. On the Spanish market Zespri has launched a new communication platform ‘Taking care of yourself is a pleasure’, which highlights the efforts Zespri is making to generate a new connection between nature, the food we get from it and our well-being. The platform encourages consumers to make good health essential and that taking care of yourself is not boring.
Europe: Meet Tao
This year TAO, a European project, has been established to tackle adolescent obesity and promote inclusion through nutrition trainings for disadvantaged youth. The TAO project has gathered 10 partners from across Europe to develop multidisciplinary training to provide adolescents with basic nutritional knowledge among other skills. The project will create educational materials for teachers and students, which will be tested at three partner schools. ‘Eating’ is one of the project’s three main pillars and the project website hosts information and tips on healthy eating, including fruit and vegetable consumption, as well as quizzes and recipes.
UK: #SeasonalVeg
Veg Power, the UK initiative encouraging children to eat more fruit and vegetables, began a new campaign, #SesaonalVeg, in June. The campaign was in response to the continued closure of food service outlets in the UK due to the pandemic, which has resulted in large quantities of seasonal vegetables not being consumed through these outlets. The campaign encourages consumers to eat more seasonal vegetables and support food producers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The campaign is being supported by top chefs and food authors along with the UK’s Department for Environment and Rural Affairs with the goal to support ‘the frontline food heroes’.
Spain: 2kg of +Brocoli
When Broccoli+ began in Spain, Spanish broccoli consumption averaged 200g per capita each year. Now 10 years later, thanks to the +Brocoli campaign and promotions per capita consumption is up to 2kg! Broccoli+ was initially created as a non-profit association to publicize the healthy properties of broccoli. Since the +Brocoli has collaborated with researchers to disseminate accurate nutritional information about broccoli and the benefits of its consumption to consumers. All this information plus recipes and tips, including preparation and cooking videos, is available on the extensive +Brocoli website and the association also operates on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.
Belgium: Smooth return days
During the transition from a few months of home working and back to the office, Alberts is offering free smoothies during their ‘Smooth Return Days’ when offices open up again. The Alberts Smoothie Station is the world’s first smoothie vending machine, where a robot prepares fresh smoothies using fruit, vegetables and water – nothing else! The Smoothie Station encourages higher daily intake of fruit and vegetables while in the office and makes the choice for a healthy and nutritious option easy. You can also now connect to the Smoothie Station via an app and make your own personal combinations or order from a pre-formulated menu.
Australia: The Good Mood Food
Hort Innovation has launched a new campaign, The Good Mood Food Campaign, which appeals to the heart and mind rather than the stomach. The campaign is in response to the challenges growers have faced in recent months due the pandemic and climatic events and the resulting effect on mental wellbeing and mood. The campaign encourages people to look after themselves mentally to boost their mood with the aim to increase fruit and vegetable intake with the message “when you eat better, you feel better”. The campaign includes television advertisements, public relations, social media and partnerships to reach 98% of Australians.
US: Virtual booths
In June United Fresh Live took place and Chiquita participated in the online fair with a virtual booth. In the virtual booth visitors had the chance to experience the lush greenery of the tropics and learn about the brand’s customer solutions, operations, category insights, sustainability efforts, sticker series and more. The virtual booth reflected the brand’s all-new customer website, which acts as an educational resource for customers and sales teams. The nature-inspired layout of the booth, which allowed visitors to experience the scenery of Chiquita’s farming communities, also served to highlight Chiquita’s commitment to promoting biodiversity through sustainable practices.