This campaign is all about making healthy eating fun. We want to engage families in the benefits of fruits and vegetables, their flavour and their nutritional value.” Jenny O’ Callaghan, campaign planning supervisor at Lidl Ireland said. This year, we have introduced six new mini characters - Molly Mushroom, Penelope Pea, Billy Blueberry, Olivia Orange, Fiona Fig and Adam Apple - and each has their own special story to tell. The mini squad are perfect for attaching to a school bag or pencil case and, there's also an exclusive limited-edition lunch bag and drinks bottle to collect.

Last year, the Society launched the Goodness Gang initiative which aims to educate children about the importance of healthy eating. The first Goodness Gang saw thousands of cuddly toys handed out as demand exceeded expectation. In March, the ‘Grow your own Goodness Gang Garden’ was introduced to give islanders the opportunity to grow their own produce and will be followed by Goodness Gang Superfoodz. The campaign also provides opportunities to teach children about the foods they eat. For example, did you know that an apple tree can live for more than 100 years or that a mushroom is made up of 90% water – which is great for keeping you hydrated?In total we’ll have given out over 50,000 characters in Jersey and Guernsey, Sophie Strawberry and Ben Banana have been by far the most popular." Here at The Channel Islands Co-operative Society we know the challenges that many parents face when trying to encourage their children to eat healthily. But since the introduction of the Goodness Gang campaign our children have learnt the many ways in which they can have fun with food and learn how to make healthier food choices. Children will be taught how to identify various fruits and vegetables and learn their nutritional benefits. The educational tours will incorporate fun activities such as a treasure hunt and interactive quiz. Giant Supermarket’s Goodness Gang Dr Amy Khor and Mark Herbert with the Goodness Gang mascots. The more we can encourage awareness and discussion around eating more fruit and vegetables, the greater the benefit to islanders’ health. I’m sure that the Goodness Gang Superfoodz will be as popular as the ones last year were.’

More information about the Goodness Gang Superfoodz including the characters’ super powers and online games to play can be found at www.goodnessgang.com We’ve seen them in the Jersey Race Club Meet, in cars. Children have taken them on holiday – there’s been some really creative stuff, it’s certainly kept our marketing team busy." Mr Cox said: "It's had our biggest reach on Facebook, it's reached 27,000 people. We're really pleased. The Co-op's Chief Operating Officer Mark Cox said: “Without a doubt, we’ve seen an increase in sales but it wasn’t our overall intention. It was to get children interested in fruit and veg, looking at new recipes. I’m not aware of many children talking about aubergines previously.Whether it’s an apple, blueberry or fig you want to add into the lunch bag – we have all the fresh fruit and veg you need in our stores. There was also an outdoor arcade-style claw crane game at bus stops in Dublin that generated engagement across digital channels. And if all that wasn’t enough, this year we have introduced Zappar to our Goodness Gang campaign. The free app allows your children to take a selfie wherever they like with their favourite Goodness Gang character. The app allows you to take images of the squad on your phone to bring them to life. The campaign has been executed; in-store with toys, an app, recipe cards and boards promoting the nutritional value of each fruit and vegetable linked to the Goodness Gang characters.

Don’t forget, as well as having fun with the Goodness Gang, our Free Fruit for Kids initiative is available in our Grand Marché stores to encourage your little ones to grab a piece of fruit while you get on with the shopping.When you’re young, receiving a free piece of fruit from a giant Molly Mushroom or Charlie Carrot in one of our Grand Marché stores, or at an island event, is not only exciting, its often the influencer that child needs to try something different or new. As well as being an experience they will share with their school friends. While out at Giant Supermarkets, don’t be surprised to see the Goodness Gang around the aisles. Each of the 10 characters in the Goodness Gang highlights a key nutritional value for healthy living. They will be placed around the fresh produce shelves to help attract kids’ attention and highlight the value of eating fruit and vegetables. The Goodness Gang teaches our children this and we are amazed how inquisitive children are and the questions our characters get quizzed on. Meet the Goodness Gang mini characters Cuddly tomatoes, mushrooms, apples and figs will soon be found on the shelves of The Channel Islands Co-operative Society stores as the next Goodness Gang arrives. There are eight Goodness Gang Superfoodz characters, which each represent a fruit or a vegetable known as a superfood, and each one has a unique super power – Olivia Orange, Billy Blueberry, Thomas Tomato, Penelope Pea, Molly Mushroom, Adam Apple, Peter Pepper and Fiona Fig.

Educational tours will be conducted with kindergartens and primary schools. Held in partnership with My Messy Box, the “vega-cation” programme will take kids on an interactive learning journey through Giant’s fresh produce aisles. The Food Heroes is a multichannel loyalty campaign, created by tcc global that 'aims to make healthy eating fun and drive customer engagement'. As a community retailer and the biggest supporter of Channel Islands produce, we are passionate about healthy eating and encouraging islanders to try new fruit and vegetables, much of which is grown in the islands, and to take a real interest in how it is grown,’ ’ said Mark Cox, Chief Operating Officer for The Channel Islands Co-operative Society. The German retailer said that the campaign promotes the consumption of fruit and vegetables with The Goodness Gang, a collection of seven characters which includes Pat Pear, Connor Carrot, Bob Broccoli and Ben Banana.

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We couldn’t believe how popular the characters were last year and are sure that demand will be as high for this year’s Superfoodz characters. I already have a favourite character and hopefully we’ll soon see lots of photos of islanders – young and old – with their new cuddly characters.’