UK non-for-profit Veg Power, the organization behind the Eat Them to Defeat Them Campaign to get families and children to consume more vegetables, announced it has entered into a unique partnership with Japan-based seed company Sakata.
Sakata’s global influence as a leader in the supply of broccoli, cabbage, squash, melons and lisianthus gives Veg Power another influencer and difference-maker in its growing stable aiming to make the UK more healthy. It currently operates in more than 150 countries.
“Sakata are passionate about promoting consumption of healthy vegetables. Joining Veg Power is the perfect way to support this great initiative,” said Stuart Cox, Managing Director, SAKATA. “For over 100 years Sakata has been breeding new vegetable varieties with improved quality, flavour and shelf-life to benefit producers and consumers. Sakata looks forward to engaging with the Veg Power team and supporting them in their mission to increase vegetable consumption.”
While Veg Power has the backing of retailers such as Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose on its side, as well as a number of produce leaders including Total Produce, Greenyard and G’s, the deal with Sakata provides Veg Power with additional vision from the ground up. The fruit and vegetable seed market is expected to rise by several billion dollars over the next five years.
In turn, Veg Power not only offers members a direct pipeline to how its campaigns are branded and structured but also are given the latest information on industry trends through exclusive market reports and briefings on the National Food Strategy.
“We are thrilled that SAKATA has come on board; with each new addition to our membership we are able to stay focused on our mission to add an extra portion of veg to every plate in the UK,” Dan Parker, Chief Executive of Veg Power said. “We’re excited about what the next six months will feature.”
Part of that will be the unveiling of the latest Eat Them to Defeat Them series in February. So far, the campaign has led to more than 500 million extra portions of vegetables being sold at retail which organization leaders say is worth £63m.
