Foods from Spain has launched a £6 million promotional programme, which brings its existing campaigns together under one banner.
The three-year strategy, which has a working title of Nature’s Best, begins in 2005 by covering grapes, citrus, Sharon fruit, Picota cherries, melons, and salad lines from Almeria. It is expected that additional products will join the party as the campaign rolls out.
Spain is by far the leading exporter of fresh produce to the UK, accounting for more than 30 per cent of the import market, and the move represents the country’s biggest financial commitment to its largest export market in its 20-year history in the UK. Maria José Sevilla, Foods from Spain director, said the principle objective is to establish a 12-month presence in the media and on supermarket shelves with a recognisable identity for mainland Spain and the Canary Islands.
“Research has shown that Spain has strong credentials with UK consumers and we hope to build upon this to ensure that Spain becomes synonymous with high quality imported fruit and vegetables available in UK supermarkets,” said Sevilla. “This new above and below-the-line strategy will enable us to develop a recognisable image for Spain with both the trade and consumers; we also hope it will make our communications with retailers simpler and more effective.”
The campaign is jointly funded by the growers themselves and the Spanish Institute of Foreign Trade. “One of the most exciting markets for Spanish growers, but also one of the more difficult, is the UK,” said Sevilla. “We are now in a position to develop a year-round support package for each of our key retail partners, developing promotion programmes to encourage UK consumers to eat more fruit and vegetables.”
National on-pack promotions will be supported for the first time through a website, www.winwithspain.co.uk, which will enable consumers to download details and collect rewards online.
Among the central cogs of the 2005 campaign is sponsorship of the Re:fresh Retailer of the Year Award - for multiple and independent retail operations. The Journal will also be publishing an exclusive Spanish Supplement in the issue that will be distributed at the Re:fresh Conference.
Sponsorship of Fruity Friday, an educational initiative of the World Cancer Research Foundation (WCRF), was also announced this week. WCRF corporate development manager Harriet Chan said: “Foods from Spain is the first fresh produce company to partner with a health charity which has a vision to promote healthy diets and lifestyles by educating people to eat more fruit and vegetables.”
Sevilla added: “We are responding to very serious issues in this world. This is one way of doing something about them. It has to help the fight to increase awareness if more organisations such as ourselves work with charities like WCRF.”
Fruity Friday is on May 13 and will feature a raft of fun activities around the country.
