The three-year Follow me to be healthy with Europe digital-first campaign, launched by Freshfel Europe and Aprifel in July 2019, has come to a close.
Utilising the hashtag #400gChallenge, the goal of the campaign was to encourage 18-30-year-olds in Europe to increase their consumption of fruit and vegetables to a minimum of 400g a day, to improve and ultimately transform millennials’ dietary habits.
This is in line with recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO) around the consumption of at least 400g of fruit and vegetables a day.
Freshfel noted that, with the target generation recognised as processing much of its content online, the digital-first nature of the campaign allowed it to succeed in raising awareness despite the challenges wrought by Covid-19.
Since its launch, it has generated more than 64m impressions on social media and accrued over 1.6m video views.
This was through the use of 30 videos, infographics and collaborations with more than 20 influencers from six European countries, who encouraged young Europeans to share tips to easily integrate fruit and vegetables into their daily diets.
Prior to Covid-19 restrictions, the campaign also met with more than 2,500 people during three different events.
“Obstacles such as a lack of interest in food and health, minimal knowledge of good nutrition and fear that a healthy diet is too expensive, often means many young people are not integrating enough fruit and vegetables into their diets,' said Philippe Binard, general delegate at Freshfel Europe. 'We’re therefore incredibly proud of the work of this campaign to raise awareness of the simple steps which can lead to a healthier lifestyle and are grateful for all the support we’ve had over the last three years towards this goal.'
Mathilde Fléchard, European project manager at Aprifel, said: “It’s brilliant timing to be able to announce this campaign’s success during the International Year of Fruit and Vegetables.
'Following this, we hope to continue educating and inspiring our younger generations to make healthier food choices as they head into adult life, with online platforms once again proving an excellent resource to connect with this generation,” she added.
