FRUITYLIFE: European Project gets positive results after a second year

Created to promote the consumption of quality fruit and vegetables and to reassure consumers about their health benefits, safety and reliability, the "Fruitylife - healthy and safe fruit and vegetables" information and promotion campaign funded by the European Union together with the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policy running in Italy, France and Germany, has closed its second year with some impressive results. In fact, between January 2013 and January 2014 Fruitylife, the three-year European project led by Alimos, reached 60,230,000 readers through articles in the press and online, and 8,730,000 consumers through material displayed and distributed in stores holding information initiatives. As many as 970 week-long initiatives have been held in stores throughout the three European states involved in the project, thanks to the participation of five product suppliers - Alegra, Apofruit Italia, Conor, Naturitalia and Orogel Fresco, all members of Alimos who are taking an active part in the program - as well as the collaboration of distribution chains such as Coop, Conad, In'S Mercato, Cedi Marche, Poli Supermercati, Sidis, Vega, the German Coop eG and the French Casinò and Biocash, alongside leading commercial restaurant groups such as Camst and Cir Food in Italy and AFL in France. The initiatives promoting the consumption of fruit and vegetables grown in Europe and raising awareness of their health qualities, safety and traceability, have seen special ad hoc areas set up within the grocery section of selected stores, using promotional material to transmit the project's message and attract consumers' attention using a fun and unusual creative design, with images specifically designed to capture the attention and immediately put across the need for fruit and vegetables in our daily lives. The same concept is expressed in the "Fruitylife, with you every day" slogan and the "Fruit and vegetables, your daily dose of health" pay-off. Consumers visiting the grocery section of the stores were offered a brochure setting out the calendar of seasonal produce and information on traceability, safety and eco-compatible farming methods, with an invitation to visit the www.fruitylife.eu website for further information on these issues or do download tasty recipes. The campaign also saw a high level of attention from distributors, who fully shared the project's general aim: to promote the consumption of fruit and vegetables and above all to raise awareness among customers of the safety of their product range. The same goal was emphasised by Massimo Brusaporci, Project Manager and Director of Alimos: "It is important to eat fruit and vegetables, but it is fundamental to eat products that are high quality and safe.This is made possible by an effective system of controls and well-defined regulations." He continued: "With the new CAP the EU continues to stress the importance of food safety, as part of the belief that the 500 million consumers now in the union have the right to receive regular supplies of healthy, nutritious food at accessible prices. Of course, within the context of a long-term and complex agricultural policy, we aim to achieve this result both through direct controls of products and their producers and by initiatives to encourage the development of diversification and attention to the environment in agriculture".