Launched just three years ago, arguably, most people would concede that the 5 A DAY scheme has made a commendable impact in its short time. Its logo has been adopted by many of the UK fresh produce industry’s biggest names and has contributed to it becoming a relatively well-known entity in supermarket aisles and beyond, aided by the government’s accompanying awareness-building initiatives.
There is no disputing the inroads the scheme has made in raising awareness of the importance of eating a minimum of five portions of fruit and vegetables a day - statistics show this part of the approach is paying off. A Food Standards Agency Consumer Attitudes Survey from 2005showed that 67 per cent of people were aware they should eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, up from 43 per cent in 2000.
However, while people are aware of the government’s advice, it has not seemingly translated to their shopping habits. According to a Defra summary released in 2005, while household purchases of fresh fruit increased by 2.1 per cent between April 2004 and March the following year, household purchases of fruit and vegetables (excluding potatoes) rose, but by a paltry 0.2 per cent over the period. Defra says this rise is understated, as in previous years some fruit drinks were recorded as fruit juices, but the extent to which this has had a real impact on the figures is inconclusive.
A broader look at purchases over past decades show that from the 1970s to 1997 there was a small but gradual increase in consumption but since then, consumption has been static.
Data from other sources reinforces the less than positive perspective. An IGD Shopper Trends survey published this year states that since 2003, fruit and vegetable consumption has been static, with just 32 per cent of shoppers claiming to eat 5 A DAY in 2006. Another report from TNS in September records only a marginal appreciation in consumption: “Despite recommended fruit and vegetable consumption being 5 A DAY, on average the UK consumer eats 2.8 portions per day. This has improved on last year’s average of 2.5 portions a day. The most significant growth in fruit and vegetable consumption is amongst children,” it said.
Perhaps this is down to work done by 5 A DAY’s accompanying School Fruit & Vegetable scheme - soon to be absorbed as part of the new School Food Trust -which has been supported by many UK fresh produce companies since its introduction.
A key supplier into the school scheme is Mack Multiples, winner of 5 A DAY Supporter of the Year at May’s Re:fresh awards for its work via www.thinkvegetables.co.uk. The company’s commercial director James Hallett says while it is impossible to quantify the potential impact the scheme has had on sales, he believes it is working. “Overall yes, 5 A DAY, does seem to be encouraging consumption on fresh produce. The industry does a lot to support the scheme against a complex and sometimes inefficient value chain, and should be commended for efforts made,” he says.
But while the overarching initiative is still in its infancy, 2.8 portions is remarkably short of the five urged by the government. And if the nation is to reach the target of the average person buying 5 A DAY by 2020 (some 3,080g per person per week, which includes an allowance of 10 per cent wastage), some feel that more needs to be done.
Hallett wagers that there is room for improvement. “There is great scope for government to be more creative and practical about communication and delivery of 5 A DAY, especially in schools,” he says. “That said there does seem to be a wind of change in the right direction, with changes to school meal menus this term and cooking beginning to return to the national curriculum.”
But some, such as Martin Clifford, who founded fresh produce search engine HairyApe, think a more radical approach is needed. At the risk of sounding unpopular, Clifford says the industry could be far more dynamic. “Consumption of fruit and veg has been static for the last 10 years approximately, so does that say the campaign has been good as it has kept the levels consistent or does it say that it is not doing its job? In my opinion, it’s a bit of both. As well as the campaign may have done, it cannot take all of the credit.
“We are constantly being gently bombarded by cooking and general lifestyle programmes telling us to eat more healthily, and, in particular, more fruit and veg. The amount of free publicity that the industry has is unbelievable. What other industries would give for it! And I realise some of this info stems from the 5 A DAY campaign.”
The Department of Health concedes that while good work has been done on providing information and raising awareness, the approach needs to go deeper to start changing eating habits: “The key area where we need to improve is in effecting behaviour change in line with overall awareness of the 5 A DAY message,” a spokesperson told FPJ. “From our research, we know that the public perceive eating healthily as expensive because of a combination of price and concern about high levels of waste with fresh produce, both from food going off and children not being willing to eat these foods.
“We need to look at how to change these perceptions and how, through a range of approaches, we can influence people’s everyday activity levels and their food habits.”
To support this work it is developing its Healthy Living Social Marketing Programme, which will focus on supporting parents and guardians in their role as the primary influencers of healthy eating habits in children, and will also support a range of initiatives on preventing obesity in children under the age of 11.
Amidst the scheme’s progression, a raft of other schemes have sprung up to take on the challenge of promoting fruit and vegetable consumption, both from within and outside the fresh produce sector.
The introduction of these should be seen as a complement and not a sign of 5 A DAY’s inadequacy, says Hallett. “5 A DAY is a good over-arching campaign and it is not a sign of its failure, rather a compliment, that there are so many individual product campaigns occurring as well.”
Potentially one of the most exciting moves the industry has made in this area is its impending Eat in Colour campaign. Driven by a consortium of companies and organisations, including the FPC, it is currently completing its plans for next year and will come into action from the beginning of 2007.
The fact that the board includes a cross-section of sponsors will ensure that the campaign remains focused on the whole sector at all stages of the supply chain, according to recently appointed chairman Anthony Levy. However, he says its key focus is “simply to get people to buy and eat more fruit and vegetables,” and while it shares this endeavour with 5 A DAY, its approach is from a different and complimentary angle.
“Whereas 5 A DAYmakes us all aware of what we ought to do, Eat in Colour will focus on what we want to do,” according to Levy. “We share the aim of increasing fruit and vegetable consumption but whereas 5A DAY puts its emphasis quite rightly on the health benefits, Eat in Colour focuses on the enjoyment of eating fruit and vegetables, how easy they are to prepare, and the pleasure to be gained.”
Inevitably, this will mean the two work side-by-side, and while a crossover between the campaigns is likely, it is no bad thing, Levy says.
“There may be overlap, but ifwe reinforce the message from different perspectives we should increaseimpact andhelp to change consumer behaviour.
“Our aim is to work closely with 5 A DAY as we believe ourcampaigns can mutually re-enforce the message andgenerate increased sales. We have already met with the 5 A DAY teamand are sharing in their research. They have also taken part in some of our planning for next year.
“We are all trying to communicate an important message so that everyone not only realises what they should do, but actually does it. We need to recognise that different people will react to different campaigns in different ways. At Eat in Colour we are very keen to work closely with all campaigns to make sure that we all get the most impact in the marketplace for the funds available.”
The input and influence of such schemes seem to present an opportunity for more creativity from 5 A DAY, and perhaps this joined-up approach will bring better results.
Going forward, the DoH says it is taking a fresh perspective and targeting a new area: “Future activity will be aimed at converting awareness of 5 A DAY into a positive action and encourage behavioural change. We will be focussing on young families in 2007. We need to provide parents and guardians with a compelling wake-up call as well as giving them the tools, education and knowledge to make positive and lasting changes to their families’ daily diet,” says the spokesperson.
It is also conducting research with a view to simplifying and communicating advice on what constitutes a children’s portion size and will look to extend the use of the 5 A DAY logo to composite foods, such as ready meals.
Clifford thinks better marketing is the key to driving consumption, but of a more dynamic kind. He thinks we could learn from other successful campaigns. “Could we be more aggressive? Definitely,” he says. “We could use shock tactics, as in the drink and drive campaign.”
When appealing to a modern-day audience, he says the power of the celebrity should not be overlooked. “There is nothing that currently has more appeal and, I’m sorry to say, influence. The target group is the younger element of society, so we should be picking celebs from two sectors, namely sport and entertainment.
“There are enough high and low-profile stars looking for self publicity that it surely cannot be too difficult to find some to come on board.”
Under wraps, EiC is causing a good level of discussion in the industry, and time will tell whether it has anything as glamorous as Clifford’s suggestions up its sleeve. However, Hallett thinks the industry could struggle to achieve its grand aims. “Mack is not involved in the industry’s Eat in Colour campaign. We have explained our views to the FPC. Largely, this centres around the difficulty of gaining effective cut through for such a campaign against the background of so many other messages being delivered to consumers by product-centric groups and government health campaigns alike.
“The project is extremely ambitious in its intended benefit value and an enormous stretch in relation to marketing industry expected norms.
“Overall there is such a plethora of product campaigns and investment being made by individual companies and groups. There are some very good campaigns being run. It is difficult to achieve a balance in share of voice gained by individual produce groups and that will depend on investment made and quality of resource applied.”
Indeed, any kind of structured campaign needs enough support and funding to execute its initiatives, and Levy says he hopes that, as EiC gains momentum, the industry will continue to offer its backing.
“Eat in Colour relies on the sponsorship of companies in the sector. We are very fortunate to have a broad range of companies who have already signed up for the three-year campaign but we still need to raise more funds to make sure we can meet our aims,” he says. “We hope that as the campaign develops, sponsors will also wish to develop the Eat in Colour ideas as part of their own initiatives. Whilst the funds are clearly very important to the campaign, the Eat in Colour board also believes that more supporters from around the industrywouldbe a strong sign of the industry’s commitment to increasing UK consumption of both fruit and vegetables.”
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