Harvey Choat, MD of comms agency Nexus, makes the case for a cross-industry campaign on the health benefits of fruit and veg, new legislation on health claims, and bolder marketing ideas to challenge the FMCG giants
Walk into a supermarket, and you’re hit by a wave of health claims. We’ve got added-protein, high-in-fibre, nutrient-dense, and cognitive-boosting ranges. The marketing pledges are everywhere. Or at least, everywhere except the fruit and veg aisle.
Fresh produce is one of the healthiest things you can consume. It is naturally packed full of nutrients, it’s as far away from an ultra-processed food (UPF) as you can get, and it’s proven to make a difference to both mental and physical health.
Yet, unlike packaged food and drink, it’s completely devoid of nutritional marketing – or any marketing in many cases. Fruit and veg lines are simply laid out at the entrance of a supermarket, as if shoppers should automatically understand the benefits. On some level, they do. But what if we approached the marketing of fresh produce in the same way as health-led or beauty brands?
Imagine the power of a cross-industry campaign promoting the health benefits of fruit and veg. We could market apples, pears and broccoli as natural antidotes to the national fibre deficiency. Broad beans, lentils and avocado are packed with protein. Blueberries, strawberries, and blackberries could be hailed as veritable cognitive boosters due to their high levels of flavonoids, which improve blood flow to the brain.
The benefits are clear. So why are we eating overly engineered health foods as opposed to fresh produce with innate nutritional value? The answer lies in legislation, money and creativity.
First, fruit and veg is constrained in the claims it can make. At the moment, it’s easier to make claims about a protein bar than it is about an aubergine – largely because UPFs can pack in nutrients to a higher concentration. But that doesn’t mean these foods are better for us. We need to present a united front in the fruit and veg sector to push for greater ability to make health-based marketing claims.
And if we don’t see movement on policy and legislation, in the short term we should be going ahead and asking for forgiveness, rather than waiting for permission. The Advertising Standards Authority would struggle to save face arguing that a banana can’t make nutrient claims that close the gap on a bottle of choccy Huel.
The long-term play needs to challenge the recommended daily allowance framework. I’m sure there is a way to tip the balance back towards fresh produce.
Secondly, there is the issue of budget. Driscoll’s has been doing some strong marketing around fresh produce, but it will never have access to the marketing spend of, say, Nestlé. That’s why we need a government-subsidised national campaign to level the playing field. If we are serious about tackling obesity, it stands to reason that broccoli and apples should have the same share of voice and visibility as chocolate bars, crisps and McDonald’s. Yet without help in the form of funding, that will never become a reality.
Marketing ideas must be bold enough to challenge the FMCG giants. Why not introduce a campaign that encourages shoppers to ‘lose their veg-inity’ by trying out a new fruit or vegetable? Catch attention, create controversy, and move the conversation on. We are the challenger now.
Or why aren’t we making the most of the strawberry moment for Wimbledon? It’s not enough to simply plonk tennis racket signage next to punnets over the summer months. We need to generate excitement and theatre – cross-merchandising with other categories or how about the UK’s first ever ‘greengrocer billboards’ to build the excitement for the world’s greatest tennis event?
When it comes to fruit and veg, we need to be bold in our short and long-term marketing thinking. The health of the nation is at stake. This is a call to action for all the revolutionaries in this great sector. Let’s get juicier!
