CDD Healthcare PR held two media events organised on behalf of HDC as part of the three-year long, levy-funded campaign unveiled in June.
The media days, which were held at two major London publishing houses last week, highlighted the health benefits of fresh produce and informed the media about the seasonality of fruit and vegetables. Over two morning sessions, 40 journalists attended, from popular consumer publications including Good Housekeeping, Prima, Country Living, Zest, Chat and Practical Parenting.
Independent nutritionist, Carrie Ruxton, gave one-to-one interviews to the journalists who were also given baskets to pick their own fruit and vegetables from a large display, which was reduced to a thin scattering at both events. The writers were especially keen to try produce they had not experimented with before such as beetroot and marrows.
Press packs with information about the health benefits of autumn and winter fruit and vegetables, and a CD of images, were distributed for use by the magazines.
Director of CCD, Justin Clark said: “The consumer media have a huge appetite for healthy eating issues at the moment and there is a new interest in connecting with the source of food. We wanted to bring fruit and vegetables to the media so they can see the range. We also aim to go beyond the food press and so we invited journalists from the health and lifestyle titles.”
The campaign has come following consultation by the HDC with levy-payers who stressed they wanted to promote their produce and its seasonality to the public.
CCD is now in talks with four celebrity chefs for seasonal fruit and vegetable recipes and will be producing a calendar for 2007, which will be available as a free give-away.
“If there are any crop associations who would like copies, then they should get in touch so we can extend the print run,” said Clark.
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