Retailers should be promoting veg during Veganuary

Imagine a world where fresh produce was valued the same as an antibiotic or weight loss drug. Or if as much marketing clout went into fruit and veg as it does supplements.

Instead, as we enter Veganuary, M&S’s Brain Ball has taken centre stage alongside a weird Veganuary campaign. It begs the question: where have all the actual plants gone? No Veganuary banners will hang in the fruit and veg aisles. Bonkers!

As a populous, we face significant health challenges. Two in three Brits are not eating the recommended five-a-day [OECD], and the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission recently reported the cost of Britain’s unhealthy food system to be £268bn each year. This dwarfs the £192bn NHS budget.

So, how can we start to help consumers understand more about how food impacts their health? Of course, most know veggies are healthy, but do they really understand the nutritional function of fresh produce, and is there any appetite to know more?

Health consciousness

According to Nexus research with 2,000 UK shoppers, 54% say they are actively avoiding foods they perceive as processed and 30% report checking labels more than they did a year ago. This shows a steady but real awakening to the role food has on our health across different demographics.

With this comes an opportunity for more flashy marketing. There are often more health claims on processed foods and supplements than in the fresh produce aisle. Many plant-based alternatives also fall into this bucket.

M&S’s Brain Ball is an example of this – stating boldly it supports brain function, high in zinc and iron. The insight is bang on – further research by Nexus found 60% of people think diet is important to their mental health. However, if a blended ball can do it, why can’t a turnip or mango? Or steak or chicken?

2025 must be a year to reimagine how we look at diet, positioning food as medicine. Inspiring people to eat more fresh, whole produce over processed convenience food, whether it’s vegetables, pulses, beans, fruit or good-quality meat. Imagine a world where the value perception of an onion matched that of an antibiotic. Or a turnip was marketed as a stylish supplement. Or a berry had the same callouts as collagen?

Savvy merchandising

Our fresh produce aisles haven’t changed for decades – signage shouts Britishness, price or sustainability, and not much else. Supermarket marketing boffins rely on replicating a Disneyland-esque fruit and veg market whilst ruthlessly stripping value perception with 8p promotions. And as for Veganuary, the strategy should be much more about ‘plant more’ not ‘meat less’.

Health feels like a huge opportunity for retailers to show their commitment to growing category value. Claims are strictly governed, but if brands like Actimel and Huel are perceived as healthier than a broccoli, we will not make Britain healthy again.

Working in partnership with organisations like Mind and the British Heart Foundation (my visualisation pictured above), decent merchandising feels like an obvious and achievable action to nudge consumers towards produce that can keep them healthy. It feels like an easy win all round.

Reframing fresh produce is an instant and powerful action. Perhaps a charter to make this kind of signage mandatory between supermarkets, growers, medical experts and even the NHS could be the start of changing food culture?

Strategic marketing can help take the nation’s ‘veginity’ and deliver value to growers who prioritise nutrient density, but most importantly could help millions live healthier, happier lives. But as they always say – who will pay?