Riverford and Abel & Cole have unveiled new campaigns ahead of the key back-to-school period taking aim at air-freighted produce and ultra processed food
The UK’s two leading veg box firms have unveiled new marketing campaigns to attract consumers in the key autumn trading period by focusing on organic and taking aim at supermarkets.
Abel & Cole’s new campaign, Unprocess Your Food, uses traditional field photography of organic veg to promote naturalness and position the box as a counter to ultra processed foods (UPFs). A complementary radio advert is a play on how organic food has nothing to hide, except the “occasional” ladybird.
Running for eight weeks from today (27 August), the Autumn campaign will be led by billboard advertising and radio in London and surrounding regions, along with social media and email marketing.
The company, which is working with agency Hearts & Minds on its new campaign, said it hopes to attract “100,000 new deliveries of unprocessed food in 2025”.
Head of marketing, Georgina Holland, said: “Health is a top concern for UK shoppers, with search interest in ‘UPF’ growing 30x in the last five years.
“We know that shoppers care deeply about what they put into their bodies – but convenience culture has disconnected us from real food. We hope that this campaign inspires a reconnection to food grown as nature intended.”
Meanwhile, Devon-based Riverford has launched its own campaign in a feistier tone and taking aim at supermarkets, which it says buy in airfreighted produce even when the British-grown summer harvest is at its peak.
In a spoof video on social media, characters dressed as vegetables, including an onion and tomato, can be seen on a flight to the UK, where they are met by taxi pick-ups holding signs for the various supermarkets.
Riverford, which buys from organic producers in the UK as well as importing with a zero air freight policy, said that: “Imports are an essential part of our food landscape, and it’s not about shaming them.
“We’re not saying we shouldn’t import any of our fruit and veg – we love our amazing European growers, and partners from further afield. But when the British summer harvest is in full swing, we think supermarkets should be sourcing more locally. Not bringing in what’s already here.”
The company said its own research has shown that 72 per cent of shoppers believe supermarkets should prioritise British farmers over global suppliers.
Riverford’s supply chain and technical director, Luke King, said: “The public wants to support British farmers and the easiest time to do that is during our peak British growing seasons and harvest. Supermarkets should make it easy for them and for example, not import green beans from Kenya, when they’re in season here in the UK.”
It comes as Riverford founder Guy Singh-Watson gave a recent candid interview to the Guardian newspaper, criticising Brexit and speaking in favour of the recent changes to the inheritance tax laws.
