Monday 4th September 2023 – Biscuit brand belVita is proud to unveil a new multichannel campaign to launch its partnership with food waste charity FareShare as part of its mission to help fight food insecurity and donate up to 100,000 meals to those in need.
Currently in the UK, over 13 million people don’t know where their next meal is coming from, with 3 million adults reported to have gone without food for an entire day due to affordability or access issues[1]. FareShare works with the food industry to receive food, that would otherwise go to waste, to a network of 8,500 charities across the UK. These groups help tackle the root causes of poverty, providing vital services including breakfast and after school clubs, lunch clubs for older people and domestic violence shelters.
The ‘Give a Smile’ campaign – which runs until 30th October – has been developed in partnership with creative agency elvis and stems from the belVita brand belief that positive energy holds a lot of power in the world. The initiative will harness this power and create a chain reaction of ‘giving back’, supported by new research that reveals Brits are more likely to be philanthropic, when feeling positive themselves.
The initiative positions belVita as a beacon for positivity and shows just how impactful and contagious a smile can be. This is brought to life as innovative, interactive audience detection billboards which will collect donations to FareShare through ‘smiles’ registered at the billboards located across the country. Alternatively, people can search ‘belVita Give a Smile’ and use their smartphones to register their smile on the site and get involved.
The 360-degree campaign will be launched through out-of-home, VOD, eCRM, paid social, in-store, influencer and PR channels. This will be managed by a cross agency team with elvis leading on creative, Publicis Media for media buying, and Tin Man Communications managing PR and influencer content.
Rapper, DJ, TV presenter, and chef, Big Zuu is supporting the partnership through the PR activity, with more to be revealed in the following weeks when the campaign goes live.
belVita’s ‘Give a Smile’ campaign aims not only to donate meals to FareShare but to start conversations and inspire further action to address food insecurity. The campaign seeks to shine a spotlight on the 13.3 million individuals facing food insecurity and the significant number of adults who have experienced going without food due to financial constraints.
Through the power of positivity, belVita is determined to make a meaningful impact in the fight against food insecurity and help create a society where no one has to go without a meal.
Speaking about the partnership, Amy Lucas, belVita Brand Manager at Mondelēz International, said:“At belVita, we believe in the power of positive energy. It’s part of our brand ethos, where our nutritious wholegrains deliver positive energy. So, we wanted to use the power of positivity and raise donations to FareShare.
We understand that even the smallest of actions such as smiling at a stranger can make their day ‘that’ much better, which inspired us to use the power of a smile to spread positivity, ultimately helping others in need.
Over 13 million people in the UK experience food insecurity, which is something that we want to change. Our mission is to use the power of positivity for a greater good, and through the nation’s smiles, help to fight this food poverty by donating meals to FareShare.”
Alexandru Vasile, Creative Director, elvis, added: “We’re proud to unveil our first purpose-driven campaign for belVita, showing how a small gesture like a smile can have a positive impact in the world, especially during challenging times.
“To launch this new platform and boost support for FareShare, we wanted to create something to make people feel good. From the casting to the music featured, everything about this work shouts positivity.”
Alyson Walsh, Commercial Director at FareShare commented: “We are enormously grateful to belVita for initiating this campaign. These donations will make a valuable contribution to helping us get good-to-eat surplus food to people who need it most, particularly as we approach the autumn and winter when nourishing food is needed even more. This will help us strengthen communities by supporting our network of charities nationwide, who provide food alongside their vital wraparound services.”
