Not-for-profit Veg Power, which aims to increase vegetable consumption throughout the UK especially for children, has added Hazera Seeds UK to its growing membership programme.
The connection with the subsidiary of Hazera, the global leader of the vegetable seed industry, further increases the footprint of Veg Power, which is relishing the philanthropy of its partners and a great start to the new year.
“The first quarter of 2022 has been one of our busiest and most successful yet, including the launch of our Fourth Eat Them To Defeat Them campaign in partnership with ITV,” says Veg Power Chief Executive Dan Parker. “This year over 1 million children will be taking part with reward charts, sticker packs and activities in schools. We are delighted to welcome Hazera Seeds UK to our programme and are grateful for their and all of our members’ support as we focus on increasing the UK’s veg consumption.”
Parker will be speaking at the London Produce Show and Conference and sharing insights from their latest report “Is healthfulness the key to increased consumption and market growth for vegetables?” that also will be given to members later this month. They will be at stand L204 in the main exhibition hall.
Veg Power’s membership programme was launched to help fund its work and campaigns and now has industry-wide representation from suppliers, grocers and growers. In return, Veg Power provides its members with a range of benefits including industry briefings and exclusive Market Insight reports focusing on emerging trends within the industry.
Other exciting Veg Power developments include the success of its ‘Stir Fry Frenzy’ campaign that reached over 1 million people across the UK. Families were encouraged to prepare a stir-fry as an easy, affordable way to increase their veg intake while using up veg lurking in the fridge. The campaign included a resource to help build the perfect stir fry, a cookery demonstration with Dr Giles Yeo and a social media campaign supported by a number of influencers and Veg Power supporters including the Chef Ken Hom, Ching-He Huang MBE, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Shivi Ramoutar and Emily Leary.
For partners like Hazera Seeds, the benefits are two-fold.
“We see Veg Power as a hugely significant platform from which to approach and appeal to children in a fun and educational way, encouraging them to eat more of their healthy vegetables,” said Mark Sutherland, General Manager, Hazera Seeds UK.
“For ourselves, the marketing information that will be available through the membership programme will provide us with valuable insights into the trends of vegetable consumption, helping to guide the breeding of our new varieties and ensure that an invitingly tasty selection of healthy vegetables is ready for the consumers of the future.”
Veg Power is funded by Abbey View Produce, Abel & Cole, Barfoots, Bayer Crop Science, Coop Foods, EVG Europe, Fresca, Greenyard, G’s, Hazera Seeds UK, Monaghan Mushrooms, Ocado, Produce World, Riviera Produce, SAKATA, Sainsbury’s, Staples, Tesco, Total Produce, Tozer Seeds, Waitrose, Wealmoor, Westfalia Fruit Group and Waitrose.
