Investment for the Dried Fruit Alliance campaign continues into its fourth year

The Dried Fruit Alliance is joining forces once again in 2023 for its fourth campaign to celebrate and re-educate consumers about the health benefits and versatility of eating more dried fruit.

On the committee this year is dried fruit heavy-weight brands Whitworths, California Prune Board, Dried Fruits Australia, South African Raisins, Aegean Exporters Association, International Sultana Conference, Besana UK, and Community Foods UK.

2022’s #EatMoreDriedFruit campaign, fronted by Tokyo Olympic Gold Medallist, and I’m a Celebrity star, Matty Lee MBE, reached over 172 million people across trade, national and consumer press, and social media. The success of this campaign in generating positive social sentiment and communicating key health benefits of eating dried fruit has encouraged further investment in 2023.

This years’ campaign is fronted by Dame Laura Kenny, the five-time Olympic gold medallist, supported by a mix of lifestyle, wellness, and fitness influencers including Reality TV Star Olivia Bowen. The line-up of talent is championing key messaging around the Dried Fruit Alliance’s #TwoBeforeTenChallenge creative, aimed to encourage people to get in two of their five-a-day with breakfast as it’s statically proven to give a higher chance of reaching their daily recommended intake. The campaign also highlights the versatility and health benefits of eating dried fruit to their engaged community of social followers.

Research has found that Brits who consume at least two serves of dried fruit at breakfast are 3.5 times more likely to hit their daily intake target than Brits who just rely on lunch and dinner. The Dried Fruit Alliance has identified this as an opportunity to establish dried fruit’s position in the market as a versatile, healthy cooking and snacking essential.

Dame Laura Kenny comments: “The statistics show that 95% of us aren’t getting in our five-a-day and to me that’s an alarming number. To be totally honest with you, I reckon I am one of those 95%. Also, for me, one of the other concerning things is that I don’t think Albie, my five-year old son is getting his five-a-day too. As an athlete our diet is massively important, I do have a nutritionist who will tell me to eat these things but trying to find ways to do it is actually really hard. This campaign really opened my eyes to all the different ways we can get in our five a day, I’m so pleased to be a part of the campaign.”

Phil Gowland, Commercial Director at Whitworths said, “Due to the success of our #EatMoreDriedFruit campaign in 2022 we are thrilled to have secured further funding from the International Nut and Dried Fruit Council (INC) and DFA committee. Partnering with our allies in the dried fruit industry, we are once again celebrating the benefits of dried fruit to actively encourage wider category growth.

This year we conducted consumer research to add insight as an extra layer to the campaign to firstly understand what the barrier for consumers, and then offer dried fruit as an achievable solution. We have taken this one step further by setting up our own Instagram page @eatmoredriedfruit where we have been sharing our findings as well as inspiration and recipes. This gives consumers a stronger call to action and allows us to better track engagement and interest as we grow and develop the campaign into 2024.“