The EU has approved funding for the UK’s first generic promotional campaign to increase awareness of the benefits of organic food with the backing of Sainsbury’s, Tesco, and Waitrose, among others.
The £2 million campaign will kick-off later in 2010 for three years and will aim to give consumers a better understanding of the benefits of organic food and farming.
The objective of the programme is to reverse the decline in the sales of organic foods and farming, through a high profile media campaign to reignite consumer interest. The campaign will stress the many benefits of organic food and farming and comprise press advertising, a digital campaign and PR.
More than 75 organisations have pledged money to the campaign including leading retailers Sainsbury’s, Tesco, and Waitrose, as well as big name organic brands such as Green & Black’s, Organix and Yeo Valley.
Catherine Fookes from Sustain, which co-ordinated the EU bid, said: “As the proposing body, we are extremely pleased that several years of hard work has paid off. It’s a great achievement which would not have been possible without the support of all our industry pledgors, the Soil Association and the Organic Trade Board. We are delighted that we will have substantial funds to promote the benefits of organic food and farming over the next three years. We would still welcome contributions from companies who have not pledged yet so we can amplify the campaign.”
“As a pledgor, we are really pleased that funding has been secured for this generic campaign,” said Matt Peach, Tesco organic brand manager. “It’s great news for the industry and will allow retailers to help promote the many benefits of organic food, making it easier for people to understand what organic means at the point of purchase. “Currently Tesco helps millions of people buy organic every week and we are committed to continuing to provide the best value, quality and range of organic food for these customers.”
