The duo are behind the effective Eat Them To Defeat Them and Peas Please campaigns, which reached 36 million people since 2019 and led to over 1.1 billion additional portions of veg being sold in the UK respectively.
With headlines showing food prices going up at a faster rate again, increasing the consumption of beans, lentils and pulses is a simple and affordable way to get people eating a healthier diet and upping their intake of important nutrients.
Beans are high in fibre, a rich source of protein and a good source of micronutrients such as potassium, magnesium, iron and zinc, as well as counting as up to one portion of your 5-a-day.
As just 4% of Brits currently eat enough fibre and only 17% of adults eat their 5-a-day, more beans in our diets would have a positive impact on the UK’s dietary health. Not only are they good for human health, beans also have low carbon footprints and are good for nature.
The duo will be calling on chefs, retailers and manufacturers, wholesalers, food service companies, youth organisations, community groups and caterers to join them in the bean ‘revolution’ and commit to serving and selling more beans. ARK Agency has been confirmed to create the accompanying digital campaign.
Rebecca Tobi, head of food business transformation at The Food Foundation, said: “Beans are the ultimate ‘superfood’, and a win-win-win when it comes to health, environmental and affordability goals.
“So we are incredibly excited to be kicking off this three-year programme of work thanks to the support of The National Lottery Community Fund. With rapidly rising levels of diet related disease in the UK, and the impacts of climate change increasingly being felt, now is the perfect moment for a campaign to boost bean consumption.
“Beans should be seen as a hero food for all businesses looking to meet Net Zero goals and cater to rising consumer demand for healthy, affordable foods, and we are keen to work with businesses to ensure beans are much more appealing and available in the supermarket aisle and when out and about.”
This campaign has received a three year grant of almost £1.4m from The National Lottery Community Fund and aims to reduce the impact of diets on greenhouse gas emissions whilst creating a long-term shift towards healthier and more sustainable dietary habits.
Dan Parker, chief executive at Veg Power, added: “We’re dedicated to making healthy, sustainable eating easier so we can’t wait to get started on this campaign to get the UK eating more beans. Not only will beans support an improvement in dietary health but they are also good for our planet and stretched budgets.
“We’ll be contributing our expertise to run the social media and influencer campaign, developing fresh and exciting creative ideas and running a schools’ programme in 750 UK schools to get children eating more beans.”