The first #LoveBritishChicken week took place from Monday 25 May to Sunday 31 May as a way to celebrate poultry farmers and the high-quality British chicken they supply year round.
Due to the recent influx of imports of poultry products produced to standards that would be illegal here in the UK, the NFU Poultry Board, led by Poultry Board Chair Will Raw, saw the need to promote the work of UK farmers.
The campaign secured its success through the use of the NFU’s media channels; through stakeholder and member engagement; and retailer and processor backing, including involvement from Morrisons.
Retailer backing
The latest NFU campaign reached 500,000 shoppers in Morrisons, thanks to Cranswick Country Foods PLC, who stickered packs of fresh chicken with the Love British Chicken logo.
Our campaign ask also encouraged shoppers to look out for the Red Tractor logo to guarantee British traceability from farm to fork when shopping.
Wider support
Stakeholders also showed their support for the campaign on social media, including Red Tractor, Cranswick Country Foods PLC and Co-op.
Harnessing social media channels
The NFU used its social media channels to promote the campaign, reaching more than 123,000 across the week and counting.
Meanwhile, a Back British Farming newsletter promoting Love British Chicken, including a competition and a recipe, was sent out to 513,000 supporters, more than 19,000 of which entered the competition to win a British chicken prize box.
The NFU partnered with Eric Lyons Butchers in Solihull to see how experts prepare a whole British chicken.
Sophie asks members of the public at Farm Fest to name as many chicken dishes as they can in 30 seconds.
Sophie asks food stalls at Farm Fest where they get your chicken from.
Member support
NFU members were given access to a toolkit on how to get involved in the campaign, including sharing details on where to buy British chicken locally, talking through the importance of buying British and the high standards of British poultry producers and resharing social media posts.
They could also use ready-made shareable graphics, which are available to reinforce these messages with the general public as the campaign continues to grow.
