Leading bodies from the food industry have been coming together to support Red Tractor in its drive to engage shoppers through the Trust the Tractor’ campaign. Now the pigs, beef & lamb and dairy divisions (BPEX, EBLEX and DairyCo) of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) are set to continue their joint promotional support through Red Tractor Week (September 16-22).
Red Tractor’s consumer facing activity during the week, under the Trust the Tractor theme, will build on the success of the Big Feastival in the Cotswolds at the end of August and feed off the launch of a new research report on consumer confidence in the food industry that has been commissioned by Red Tractor. The campaign will highlight how Red Tractor assures food from farm-to-fork through a week-long series of farmers’ stories featuring beef, lamb, poultry, pork, cereals, produce and dairy.
A collection of new and exclusive Red Tractor recipes will also be showcased, featuring the best Red Tractor ingredients, while a phone app will be unveiled that helps consumers find Red Tractor food when dining out. An Instagram photo competition offering top prizes is also promised.
Trust the Tractor made a big impact at the Big Feastival, the popular music and food event run by celebrities Alex James and Jamie Oliver. BPEX and EBLEX chef Alan Paton was there to entertain audiences while Quality British Turkey chef Tony Robertson served up some tasty dishes of his own.
Red Tractor also used the event to launch its consumer advocacy programme, Red Tractor Recruits, with Alex James and Adam Henson inspiring ambassador families to promote and support the assurance scheme with community initiatives in their local areas.
“There’s no doubt horsegate cast something of a cloud over consumer trust but this cloud proved to have a silver lining as consumers sought clear reassurance on food quality,” AHDB chief executive Tom Taylor said, “this brought the trust and confidence that comes with Red Tractor into its own.”
“The collaboration has seen joined-up working from initial conception and strategy right through to implementation,” Red Tractor Assurance’s head of marketing, Richard Cattell, added. “The sharing of research and access to multiple resources has allowed the creation of more insightful work, for the benefit of everyone. This era of collaboration is helping us to raise the bar especially in how we engage and communicate with consumers.”
With support from the NFU, work started on the nationwide Trust the Tractor Banner Campaign in May, which gave farmers the chance to demonstrate to the public their trust in the Red Tractor logo. The joined-up approach also became the foundation for BPEX’s national advertising campaign fronted by their ambassador and Red Tractor farmer Jimmy Doherty.