Organic is good for you and the world

Organic farming, on the way to being a leading food system

Chain organisation Bionext set itself the task of making organic farming one of the leading food systems by 2030. To achieve this, they asked Food Cabinet to develop a three-year publicity campaign to increase consumer knowledge in a light-hearted and engaging way and to cultivate a positive attitude towards all things organic.

Strategy and concept

The beauty of organic products is that they are both delicious and nutritious and incredibly important for a healthy planet. And it is that latter point in particular that was often the focus of previous campaigns to promote organic food – an altruistic approach which, unfortunately, only reached a small group of people. 

So, it was high time for a fresh take on organic. The ‘Bio lekker voor je’ (Organic is good for you) campaign shows consumers that organic is not only good for the future of the planet, but also for them. People’s individual choices and lifestyle are at the heart of the campaign, and we show people how organic food can be a part of that. Food Cabinet developed a comprehensive three-year campaign geared towards changing behaviour; throughout that period, we will continuously inspire the target group, initiate a discussion about organic food and – twice a year – launch more targeted efforts to draw people’s attention to switching to organic.

Inspiration all year round

In order to show the target group, all year round, how they can integrate organic products into their daily lives, we devised a continuous content strategy – from easy-to-follow recipes and articles that invite people to visit an organic farm to more in-depth interviews with innovative farmers and informative articles. All year round, we show them how organic products can be part of their life, and how organic contributes to a better world. Good for you, and good for the future of the planet.

Transition weeks

Twice a year, we organise ‘overstapweken’, or transition weeks, to nudge people towards organic, which take place at the beginning of the year and just after the summer holidays. We leverage the momentum of New Year’s resolutions and that fresh-start feeling in September to show consumers that switching to organic is the easiest and tastiest way to make a difference.

During a three-week period, we highlight the advantages of going organic. Our online video campaign shows consumers, in a refreshing and engaging way, the benefits of purchasing organic products. During the transition weeks in January, this online effort is complemented by a bus shelter campaign in the four major cities. Accompanying content articles then provide more in-depth information as to what organic is all about.

Making organic the talk of the town

The organic quality mark stands for a comprehensive approach to striking the right balance between agriculture and food production and humans, animals and environmental issues. It’s quite the story, which, unfortunately, not everyone is aware of. In order to contribute more in-depth information and explanations to the public debate, we organise ‘Bio Buiten Expedities’ and ‘Bio Meet-Ups’, organic expeditions and meet-ups. 

For the expeditions, we visit an organic farm with a group of food influencers and engage in a conversation about the added value of organic food. They have the opportunity to ask anything and everything they want to know, which they then share with their followers in fantastic articles.

During the meet-ups, we engage with the target group themselves. We invite key figures from the organic sector to debate a topic related to the broader theme of ‘organic’. We encourage members of the audience to join in the discussion and ask questions which, quite literally, allows us to engage with the target group directly.

Kombucha workshop

In the second year of the campaign, we organised an online kombucha workshop to give the target group practical tips and to show them how easy and fun it is to use organic products. We used the workshop to show how organic food can be incorporated into the target group’s lifestyle. Kombucha brewer Jiri Brandt taught viewers the tricks of his trade and showed them how to make the most delicious kombucha themselves using organic ingredients. To promote the workshop, we teamed up with influencers, which resulted in over 800 people signing up to take part.

Result

The ‘Bio lekker voor je’ campaign is achieving fantastic results: in the first two years, it reached almost six million people. We are continuing to develop the campaign in close cooperation with Bionext. Next stop: establishing organic farming as one of the leading food systems by 2030.