The Fresh Produce Consortium has issued the entire industry with a challenge: to put its collective hand in its pocket and fund a PR campaign to drive consumption of fruit and vegetables in the UK.
After unveiling an ambitious communications concept at a meeting of stakeholders in London on Wednesday, FPC chief executive Nigel Jenney asked “can we afford not to?”
To launch a worthwhile nation-wide campaign, the FPC is looking to raise £500,000 a year for the next three years. A sliding scale of contributions has been drawn up, dependent on individual company turnover, and a pledge form will be distributed to firms throughout the industry by the end of this week. In order to process an application in November, for European funding to match the industry’s input, Jenney is hoping for a swift and positive response from all sectors of the industry.
He alluded to the fact that, following initial discussions with the FPC, at least two major multiples have been very supportive and indicated their willingness to be involved. The attitudes of the supermarket chains, it was recognised, are crucial, as they will provide additional drive to suppliers around the world to back any campaign.
The government too is keeping an interested, watching brief.
The concept Eat in Colour was put forward by BMA Communications, to give the audience an inkling of an approach that could be taken should it back the FPC.
The plan is to implement a generic umbrella campaign that will embrace the initiatives already in place to promote consumption of fruits and vegetables, and add its own, over-arching flavour - and colour - to the effort.
BMA’s Jane Beechey said the concept is now “owned by the FPC” and can be “creatively interpreted”. Under European law, the campaign would have to go out to tender.
The success of high-profile PR and marketing campaigns in the fresh produce arena has been limited by an emphasis on the fear factor, said BMA’s David Thornton. In the context of obesity being labelled a “global public health epidemic” and with a “media agenda working for us”, the consumer has never been more ready for practical healthy eating messages, he said.
The three-pronged task, he added, is to “overcome the perceived difficulties” consumers have with fruit and vegetables, to “create a desire” to eat more, and generate a “sense of joyfulness” around fresh produce. Celebrating the unique colours of fresh produce was BMA’s suggested campaign focus.
The sliding scale of desired contributions ranges from £250 for companies with a turnover of less than £500,000 to £25,000 for those with a turnover in excess of £200 million.
The FPC will now gauge interest from responses to its pledge forms before reporting back to the industry.
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