EUROPEAN FRUIT AND VEGETABLES: YOUR FRESH AND SUSTAINABLE CHOICE!

The growing level of exports of fruit and vegetables in the UK, equal to a compound annual growth rate of 4.7%, represents a significant opportunity for the European fruit and vegetables sector.  Indeed, the UK is a large market with a quite high overall (9.3 million tons in 2020) and per capita (139 kg distributed over a population of 67.89 million) consumption of fruit and vegetables.  The UK is also quite dependent on the import of fruit & veg and the EU has a market share of 55-56% in the last 5 years (3.3 million tons in 2020).  Focusing on key characteristics of the promoted products (quality, freshness, sustainability, selection, traceability and food safety), the proposal aims to increase awareness as well as sales of European fruit (CN codes 0801 - 0810) and vegetables (CN codes 0701 - 0709) in the target market through a cohesive "Enjoy - it''s from Europe" campaign underpinned by the theme "I love European fruit and vegetables: I choose fresh and sustainable!". The campaign''s strategy will be adapted to the different target groups. B2C and B2B activities will be properly balanced according to the main objectives (increase of awareness and exports) to be reached and will concentrate on opinion leaders, importers / professionals in distribution and the Ho.Re.Ca. channel as well as on consumers (aged 25-64).  Furthermore, the activities have been programmed in order to involve a sizeable number from each of the 3 target groups and particular attention has been paid both to the post Covid-19 sustainability of the on-field activities (micro press events, B2B workshops with importers / distributors, organisation of special online/offline magazine and TV reports) and to the diversified use of online / social channels (website, social media, media and micro influencers partnerships).