A new campaign has kicked off in Belgium to promote the country's endives to younger consumers, using cartoon character Popeye as the central figure.
'Endives are a product that is mostly eaten by older consumers, so we need to encourage younger people to try it,' explained Sofie Lambrecht, product manager for fruit and vegetables at VLAM, Flanders' Agricultural Marketing Board.
The campaign includes a new website, which features a number of recipe ideas – a key part of the push, according to Lambrecht.
'We are convinced that consumers think endives are just for salads and soups,' she said, 'but there are so many different ways of eating them – on a pizza, for example, or in a quiche.'
The idea, Lambrecht said, was to encourage parents to prepare endives in different ways in order to find out how their children preferred them.
'We are targeting families with children,' she said, 'promoting on Facebook, placing adverts in free newspapers to reach commuters, undertaking promotions in retail stores. Along with the recipes we are offering other materials more suited to children, including colouring-in books and stick-on tattoos.'
The website also features advice to parents, encouraging them to include their children in the whole process, taking them to the supermarket and letting them feel and choose the one they want before cooking with them.
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