Tesco has decided to use the weird and wonderful ways that kids describe fruits and vegetables to inspire others to try them.
From “Happy Cactus” (pineapple, reimagined by six-year-old Ella), “Velvet Tennis Balls” (peaches, renamed by Gwen, seven), “Green Water Drumsticks” (cucumber, renamed by Layla Grace, seven) and “Unicorn Horns (baby corn, as interpreted by Emilia, six), the pupils at participating schools did such a great job with the descriptions that Tesco has added them to signage in their local stores.
The rebrand marks the launch of the second year of the Tesco Fruit and Veg for Schools programme, which was developed in partnership with the British Nutrition Foundation. In its first year, the programme provided funding for more than 400 schools with higher-than-average free school meal ratios, providing more than 10 million portions of fruit and vegetables to around 140,000 pupils.
In year two, Tesco will provide fresh fruit and vegetables to pupils in more than 550 schools to give their diets a healthy and nutritious boost, while shining a spotlight on the amazing things that schools are already doing with their fruit and veg – from cookery lessons to smoothie clubs.
The Tesco trial comes as 82% of kids say they’re more likely to eat fruit and veg if a friend or schoolmate recommends it, thanks to their often-colourful descriptions of the taste, texture, and colour (29%).
Two thirds of parents say their child is a picky eater and 63% believe their child is more adventurous when they eat at school, largely because they like to try what their friends eat (52%) or see other kids enjoying different foods and join in (59%).
Kids agree it seems. The majority of those (61%) that eat more fruit and veg at school say it’s because they copy their friends who eat healthy and more than three quarters (77%) say they’ve tried a food because their friend made it sound cool.
When they do try something new, nearly half (46%) of kids say they like or even love it, with just 6% saying they tend to dislike or hate the taste of fruit and veggies.
The majority of parents (80%) say they struggle to get their kids to try new fruits and vegetables at home, taking an average of 13 minutes trying to persuade them to eat their greens before giving up. To get kids to eat their greens, parents cut them into fun shapes (46%), talk up the health benefits (58%) and some even give them new names to make them sound more appetising (21%) – with top monikers including “Cute-cumbers” and “Tiny Trees”.
Ashwin Prasad, Tesco UK CEO, said: “Schools have told us what a positive impact the Tesco Fruit and Veg for Schools programme has made on their children, so we are delighted we are able to support even more schools in year two.
“The first year of our programme has been a huge success and by expanding it we can ensure that even more young people in some of the most challenged communities in the UK get access to more fruit and veg.”
Elaine Hindal, chief executive of the British Nutrition Foundation, said: “Tesco’s Fruit and Veg for Schools programme has helped to improve the diets of our young people by helping them get more of their five a day, try new varieties and develop healthy habits that we hope will stay with them through life.
“We’re delighted to see the programme expanded to provide daily fruit and vegetables to even more children who might not normally be able to access them.”
Harriet Hodgson, family engagement officer at Coed y Dderwen Community Primary School in Merthyr, who took part in the first year of the programme, added: “The funding we received from Tesco has already made a meaningful difference to our school community.
“We are now able to provide fresh fruit daily to all our pupils, promoting healthier eating habits and encouraging children to make nutritious choices throughout the day. We have even seen improvements in both attendance and concentration amongst the children, which is fantastic to see.”
Censuswide conducted the research among a sample of 2,000 parents of school-age children (ages five to 16). The schools that took part were Coed-y-Dderwen Community Primary School, Merthyr Tydfil, St David’s Primary School, West Johnstone in Scotland, and Twerton Infant School, Bath.
Stores participating in the renaming of fruit and veg include Tesco Superstore, Keynsham, Tesco Extra, Merthyr Tydfil and Tesco Superstore, Linwood.
