Each year British Tomato Fortnight is celebrated. This campaign promotes the humble, nutritious, delicious, and responsibly produced British tomato, which culminates in two weeks of dedicated celebration during the peak of the season, starting next week.
Campaign partners
Jack and Grace Communications is the lead for the British Tomato Fortnight (BTF) campaign, they have supported this for several years, building momentum on the yearly campaign and giving a presence on social media and beyond, which they will build on this year.
The Veg Power which focuses on encouraging kids to eat more veg and helping families improve their healthy eating habits. They will be supporting us on the BTF campaign for the first time by working with Jack & Grace to amplify our reach even further through their established media networks and chef/nutritionist influencers.
Key messages
There are many things to share about the delicious, responsibly produced British tomatoes but the focus is on a few key elements for this years' campaign:
- Sustainability and seasonality - British growers work hard and with great skill to produce tomatoes as efficiently and sustainably as possible, which is an incredible story to tell. Supporting local, sustainable, seasonal produce is good for you, the environment and local economy - what is not to like?
- Health benefits of tomatoes - There are numerous compelling nutritional and health benefits of eating British tomatoes as part of a balanced diet that everyone should know about! With a population that is becoming more and more health conscious and aware of where their food comes from, eating British tomatoes is a key part of that picture.
- Versatility - British tomatoes are very high quality and delicious eaten raw all by themselves or in lovely salads, and are hugely versatile to cook with, whether made into a sauce, roasted, barbecued, fried, stuffed… The list is endless and there are countless excellent recipes to share that showcase tomatoes, and that will inspire foodies around the country.
Key activity highlights so far
A key influencer supporting the campaign this year is Great British Bake-Off star Flora Shedden. She is giving her support via her social media networks and has created two special recipes: Fresh tomato carpaccio and Yellow tomato pasta.
The British Tomato Growers' Association's grower members are supporting the campaign in a multitude of ways:
- Supporting on social media with #BritishTomatoFortnight on all posts and #tastytoms on recipes.
- Sending out fantastic Tomato sample boxes straight from their nurseries to key supporters of the campaign to help garner support.
- Taking some great images and videos of their nurseries to give a behind the scenes look at tomato production. So far find some lovely content from Green House Growers Sussex and R & L Holt.
- Veg Power are supporting via their established social media and influencer networks, including the likes of Sam Nixon and Bettina Campolucci Bordi. They will also engage with their school networks to put a focus on tomatoes for lunch, food classes and newsletters to parents; and in collaboration we are doing a BBQ social media giveaway from 3 June.
- British Tomato recipes and information about the health benefits of tomatoes on our website and shared on social media.
- Saturday Kitchen's Matt Tebbutt is due to give British Tomato Fortnight a shout-out on the programme on 25 May 2024!
- A few brand partnerships have been arranged together with a couple of mini giveaways to raise awareness for the campaign alongside some fantastic brands, including Jersey Royals, Maldon Salt and The Northern Pasta Company.
- The #Tastytoms recipe competition on social media has been kicked off and will be running until the end of British Tomato Fortnight! To be in the chance of winning a lovely red Le Creuset dish and, of course, some delicious British tomatoes, entries need to submit a wonderful recipe that showcases tomatoes to their best.
- The Association has garnered some support from retailers, with Sainsbury's going all out with new tomato product launches with specific British branding, bespoke shippers, and featured British Tomato Fortnight information and grower stories on their website.
And there is much more to come
With more brand partnerships going live, tomato drops at media outlets and radio stations, more influencer recipes, further behind the scenes grower clips and competitions coming to fruition, it's going to be an action-packed couple of weeks!
We hope you'll joining in celebrating British Tomato Fortnight and show your support through your available channels. Tag @britishtomatoes, and use the hashtag #BritishTomatoFortnight.
For more information:
British Tomato Growers Association
www.britishtomatoes.co.uk