Aldi makes Olympic effort to support British food
Six Rio-bound athletes will become the faces of Aldi’s campaign, including gold medallists from the London Olympics such as boxer Nicola Adams and taekwondo competitor Jade Jones.
The initiative, which is part of Aldi’s sponsorship of Team GB in the run-up to the Rio Olympics next summer, involves three phases: Tune in to The Taste Kitchen from Aldi launching later this month; the Homegrown Heroes programme going live in late September; and Get Set to Eat Fresh launches in October.
Online TV platform
The supermarket is launching an online TV platform, The Taste Kitchen, which will share the healthy affordable diets of its six athlete ambassadors and show how people can eat like an athlete to help improve mental and physical health.
Homegrown Heroes will enable the public to search via an online platform for their local Homegrown Hero, leave a message of support and find out more about their favourite things to eat.
And Aldi will be supporting the British Olympic Association (BOA) and Get Set, the BOA’s schools education programme, with Get Set to Eat Fresh. The initiative will champion healthy eating among 25,000 schools nationwide, providing pupils with all the materials they need to learn about nutritious foods.
Sourcing locally
Tony Baines, joint md of corporate buying at Aldi, said: “Since we opened our doors in the UK in April 1990, we’ve worked hard to establish British roots, sourcing locally where possible and building long-term relationships with British suppliers.
“The partnership with Team GB celebrates this and epitomises the spirit of teamwork that is at the heart of how we give customers what they want and respect what matters most to them.
“Our partnership with Team GB will see us championing fresh, Great British produce and meat, which is readily available and affordable to support people in living healthy lifestyles.”
The Olympic initiative comes three weeks after Aldi signed an agreement with the National Farmers Union (NFU), which the NFU said “could change the face of retailer and supplier relations in this country”.
It comprised nine pledges including not forcing suppliers to fund promotion or to charge suppliers for missed or late deliveries, or customer complaints.
At the time Baines said: “This allows us to build long-term and sustainable relationships, which in turn enables our customers to benefit from unbeatable prices and quality.”
