Campaign will introduce budget friendly ways to cook with leeks and minimise waste
A new promotional campaign designed to encourage more consumers to eat fresh British leeks is launching to highlight the 2024/25 season.
Backed by the British Leek Growers Association, a collaboration of eight UK leek growers and five seed companies, the campaign is based around the theme of ’Resourceful Recipes’.
It will embrace the current cost of living crisis by introducing budget friendly ways to cook with leeks and minimise waste, the association stated.
The campaign will use grower profiles to highlight the leek’s journey from British farms to consumers’ forks. The nutritional benefits of eating leeks will also be showcased, with a focus on their inulin content and prebiotic qualities.
A broad range of national and regional consumer and news publications and broadcast media will be targeted via a comprehensive PR campaign that aims to bring seasonal British produce to the attention of the public.
A key strategy for 2024/25 will be to engage with social influencers, recognising that social media is now often the first ‘port of call’ for consumers seeking recipe or nutritional information.
BASF Nunhems is contributing to this element of the PR campaign by funding a social media initiative that will see a team of micro-influencers promote British Leeks throughout the season.
“Leeks are one of my favourite comfort ingredients,” said food influencer and author of The Savvy Shopper’s Cookbook, Amy Sheppard.
”They are at their best from November to April, which is perfect, as it’s the time we most need a bit of comfort food. They are sweet and versatile and a great addition to stews, soups, pasta dishes and roast dinners.”
Leek Growers Association chairman Tim Casey noted that while the cost-of-living crisis continued to bite, it was important for consumers to know that they could still create healthy, seasonal recipes, using British produce, on a budget.
“This campaign aims to highlight the health benefits associated with eating leeks, while demonstrating how consumers can produce cost effective, easy to prepare and tasty meals with leeks at their heart,” he said.
The campaign launches on 1 November and will run until April 2025.
