UK supermarket giant Waitrose has raised the game against Tesco, after the latter was widely criticised for the launch of a series of fake farm brands on private-label meat and fresh produce packaging. The non-existent farms – going by the British-sounding names of Willow, Boswell, Woodside, Rosedene, Redmere and Suntrail – caused a stir in Britain, with the National Farmers’ Union saying the brands may give customers a false idea of where their products are from.
For its new marketing campaign, Waitrose is putting real animals and real farms centrestage by placing a GoPro camera on a cow, to film scenes from a Berkshire dairy farm; poultry farms and fishermen will also be part of the campaign, which will roll out on April 15.
“We’ve always been proud of where our foods comes from, and the care and commitment our farmers and suppliers put into producing it. We have never compromised on quality, and never will,” said Rupert Thomas, marketing director, Waitrose. “Rather than telling customers what we do, we’ve decided to show them in an open and honest way.”
Only footage taken in the previous 24 hours will be used, and the chain will also run live streams from one of its own farms, to be watched by commuters at major train terminals.
