Pink Lady®, the UK’s largest fresh produce brand, has given its backing to The Great Fruit Adventure, a ground-breaking 10,000 mile journey to tell children more about where their food comes from.
The apple brand is backing produce industry veterans Max MacGillivray and Gareth Jones, who plan to ride motorbikes from London to Cape Town to raise awareness of how fruit and vegetables arrive in our shops. Starting in November from Spitalfields Market, the trip will last four months.
MacGillivray, MD of Redfox, which specialises in recruitment for fresh food, agribusiness and retail, said he was motivated to create The Great Fruit Adventure after reading that six out of 10 British children had no idea where the fruit and veg they ate came from.
“I want to tell the story of the fantastic places where our fruit and veg are grown. Having the financial backing of Pink Lady has taken the Great Fruit Adventure from the drawing board to the farms and orchards of Africa.”
Michelle Toft, chief marketing officer for Coregeo, the Master Licensor for Pink Lady said: “As the UK’s largest produce brand The Great Fruit Adventure is a natural fit for Pink Lady. It’s an initiative that will help educate children about where a lot of produce comes from, and play a part in encouraging them to eat more fruit and vegetables.”
In 2015, sales of Pink Lady apples reached 53 million kilos, an increase of 10% on 2014. As well as providing sponsorship, the apple brand plans to support the Great Fruit Adventure with a marketing and PR campaign.
MacGillivray and Jones, who runs a milk delivery company with his brother, plan to film and blog about the farms and growers they visit to help raise awareness of how fruit and veg gets from where it is grown to British retail shelves.
Their destinations will include citrus growers in Spain, the largest grower of sweetcorn in Senegal, a fruit grower in Ghana supplying Waitrose and Sainsbury’s with prepared fruit products, flower growers in Ethiopia and Mozambique, vegetable and coffee growers in Kenya and Tanzania, and fresh produce growers, including Pink Lady producers in South Africa.
As well as Pink Lady, two leading food foundations have also given their backing to the trip.
The Waitrose Foundation and the Fairtrade Foundation announced their support for The Adventure in August.
To get involved, support or sponsor the project, call 01284 715055, email info@thegreatfruitadventure.com or visit www.thegreatfruitadventure.com
The Great Fruit Adventure is a non-profit campaign and all proceeds raised after the cost of the trip will go to a select number of African facing nominated charities.