Soft fruit supplier Soloberry hasannounced a partnershipwith nutritionist and chef Dale Pinnock in a bid to raise awareness of the nutritional benefits of berries and drive the consumer health trend.
Soloberry hopes the chef will help the business promote the various health benefits of soft fruit, seeing opportunities to increase sales by encouraging consumption at new meal occasions.
Self styled as The Medicinal Chef, Pinnock treated his childhood acne through nutritional experimentation and has since become a qualified nutritionist and written 14 books on the subject, as well as co-presenting a prime time show on ITV called ‘Eat, Shop, Save’.
He will be working on eight exclusive berry recipes for Soloberry to publicise over the coming year as it embarks on its latest marketing drive ‘From Plant to Plate’.
The campaign highlights the journey of the producer's soft fruit from its breeding partner and sister company Newstairs right through to the consumer.
Pinnock will be joining Soloberry at Fruitnet’s Global Berry Congressin Rotterdam in March to make a keynote speech on marketing the health benefits of berries and how they can be incorporated into our diets.
“Berries really are one of the most powerful weapons in the arsenal against cardiovascular disease,” he said. “Their high flavonoid content has amazing influences upon our circulatory system. They can cause our blood vessels to dilate, keeping blood pressure low.
“Flavonoids are generally colour pigments in the deep red through to blue and purple end of the spectrum. So, for maximal hit, go for the deepest darkest berries you can find.”
The nutrionist added that soft fruit also helps protect the lining of vessels, making them more resilient to inflammatory damage that can lead to plaque formation and eventually heart disease.
“Dale has a passion to provide real, down-to-earth, practical advice for people who want to make a change towards a healthier lifestyle,” said Soloberry’s head of brand and communications Rachel Montague-Ebbs.
“This ties in perfectly with Soloberry’s thinking and corporate mantra to ‘make the world a healthier place, berry by berry’. Education is key to boosting the sales of berries and bringing them into all meal times.”
Soloberry will be hosting a smoothie bar atGlobal Berry Congressand Montague-Ebbs revealed that there will be an “interactive element” to Pinnock’s keynote speech.
