Information on fruit & vegetable promotional campaigns around Europe and beyond

Fresh Times – Edition 1, 2023

Freshfel Europe collects this information from different sources to the best of its knowledge. Freshfel Europe is in no way responsible for the content of the articles used. For any questions or further information, please contact the Association’s Secretariat.

Editor’s Note: a winter of variety

Consumption campaigns are now looking ahead to a year hopefully filled with fresh and tasty fruits and vegetables. The most recent Freshfel Europe Consumption Monitor shows that average consumption in Europe is still below the WHO daily recommendation of at least 400g per person something we hope can be remedied by clever and fun campaigns. In this edition of the Fresh Times, we see a focus not only on the nutritional benefits of fruit and vegetables but also on ways to make them last longer through clever cooking. There is also a surge in the promotion of unconventionally shaped fresh produce, encouraging people to explore all sizes and shapes of fruits and vegetables.

Italy: Fruits & Basket

In November, As part of encouraging a healthy lifestyle with both physical movement and healthy diets Dole Italia has become the official fruit sponsor of the basketball team Pallacanestro Brescia. The team is playing in the Serie A championship and will be sponsored by Dole Italia for both the 2022-23 and the 2023-24 season. Basketball is becoming increasingly popular in Italy, especially amongst younger generations, and this sponsorship serves as an important opportunity to approach and communicate with those generations. There is also a territorial element of supporting and following your team, which enables more directed communication. Pallacanestro Brescia is also looking forward to the sponsorship and hopes that the relationship will be long and fruitful.

Spain: Sweet dalmatians

This spring, you might find some dogs on the loose in the fruit and vegetable shelves. SanLucar is embarking on a campaign which will put the puppies from the classical Disney movie “101 Dalmatians” on their packaging. Reminding consumers about the movie, while offering some healthy movie snacks in the form of their strawberries, pineapples, blueberries or mangoes might prove to be an enjoyable concept. The campaign is primarily aimed at the younger audience, as SanLucar insists that the foundation for a healthy life is built at a young age, but the motifs of the spotted puppies might very well bring some nostalgic grown-ups to the snack table as well.

Poland: All you need to know

This Polish campaign promotes all groups of vegetables grown domestically and was initiated by the Association of Bell Pepper Producers of the Republic of Poland. The campaign website provides a monthly seasonal calendar for Polish vegetables, tasty and fun recipes, as well as a full vegetable encyclopedia! From aubergines to tomatoes, the encyclopedia provides you with vegetable history, species, nutritional compositions, benefits, production map, seasonality, recipes and fun facts. Did you know that eating a fresh apple after eating garlic is rumored to be an effective remedy for bad breath? The fun facts of the encyclopedia of vegetables are bound to make you the light at any party!

Spain/Germany: Veganuary

This year, for the third time, Spanish SanLucar together with German cooking app Kitchen Stories, teamed up to encourage consumers to keep a plant-based diet in January – so-called “Veganuary”. For the whole month, SanLucar’s mangoes, avocadoes, seedless lemons with edible peel and pineapples were sold in German supermarkets together with vegan recipes designed to whet consumer appetite for vegan food. The last campaign the duo did together reached 31.8 million people and achieved an 83% increase in sales. Because as they themselves say,using our fruits and vegetables is not only fun but also leaves you with fantastic tasting dishes”.

UK: Veg Power!

VegPower does it again! Following their great success on their award-winning “Eat them to defeat them” campaign, VegPower is now teaming up with Dreamworks in relation to the upcoming Kung Fu Panda and the Dragon Knight Netflix series. Through the headline “Behold the lunch of legendsthe campaign has created a lunchbox guide and weekly planner to help parents create healthier, simpler and affordable lunch boxes for their children. The campaign acknowledges that traditional lunch box staples have increased in cost, and so VegPower wants to support the introduction of more vegetables in lunch boxes. So in your next lunchbox, you can “unleash the energy” of fruits and “build your strength” with vegetables.

France: Guaranteed fresh

Carrefour is making an effort to ensure that fresh fruits and vegetables remain affordable while ensuring consumer trust in the quality of the products. Currently, there are two campaigns working on this. The first is part of their “anti-inflation challenge”, which aims to allow customers to continue daily life without feeling they have to deprive themselves of healthy food. Therefore, they are offering a wide selection of fresh fruit and vegetables, all below €1. Through their Taste and Freshness guarantee, they are also helping customers dare to try fruit and vegetables even when not sure of the quality or freshness. This is especially useful to create trust when online shopping.

Belgium: Clown’s noses?

In Belgium, supermarket chain Delhaize attempted to encourage and intrigue children to eat more fruits and vegetables through some interesting name changes. In the campaign, 12 different fruits and vegetables, defined as “Magic vegetables” got their names changed by none other than children themselves. This led to tomatoes becoming ‘Clown’s noses’, carrots becoming ‘orange rockets’ and oyster mushrooms becoming ‘gnome trumpets’. The name changes did not just include changing the store signs but was also extended to packaging prints and receipts, in order to completely solidify the new name. The name changes seemed to inspire, as magic vegetables saw a sales increase of 151%.

Poland: (Im)perfection

Before the Christmas holidays, Lidl in Poland launched a campaign to encourage the purchase of “less-than-perfectly-shaped” pieces of fruit and vegetables, stating that one needs to give all vegetables a chance. They might look different, but they taste just as good. This did not only mean that Lidl was trying to sell whatever imperfectly shaped pieces of fresh produce they might have in store – not at all. The supermarket chain also went out of its way to buy over a thousand tonnes of Polish beetroots that were set to be used for other food applications because of their curious shapes. Turns out customers did not only received them well but also fell in love with these (im)perfect vegetables.

Global: Veggie Vindicator

A UN league of superheroes are taking action to combat climate change and empower children to do the same. Through superhero characters, the UN educates and engages children on the Sustainable Development Goals and how children themselves can take action to help reach them. One of the superheroes in the team is the ‘Veggie vindicatorwho educates everyone on how to eat – and appreciate – more vegetables. In the Veggie vindicator pamphlet, you can learn about the importance of eating a lot of fruits and vegetables and tips and tricks on how to include them more in your daily life. In the end, you will receive a certificate of completion and have become a true Veggie vindicator-superhero. 

UK/Ireland: Mushroom mania

During the dark winter months, an extra boost of vitamin D might come in handy to keep energy and health levels high. This is why UK & Ireland Mushroom Producers launched a campaign in December to shine a spotlight on the vitamin D properties of mushrooms. Under the catchphrase “Get Your Vit Hit with Mushrooms”, the campaign was displayed on billboards, TV, social media and other platforms in the UK. The campaign website provides valuable information, recipes, and tips and tricks on how to incorporate more mushrooms into your daily diet. As put by the organisation itself, mushrooms are an easy way to get a healthy dose of the sunshine vitamin D”. 

Australia: Healthy returns

In an attempt to tackle high obesity rates and increase the intake of fruits and vegetables the campaign of “Healthy returns” will be encouraging Australians to eat more vegetables. The campaign runs from 29 January to 25 February, withthe campaign name refering to the Australian back-to-school period and is a reminder of childhood obesity. The campaign focuses on seasonality and the possibilities to eat well at an affordable price. On the website you can find both recipes and tips and tricks on how to get the most out of your vegetables, for instance by keeping the skin on certain products and what to do with soft and limp vegetables.

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