Upmarket British grocer Waitrose has launched a major campaign enabling customers to see the production process on farms with the aim of giving shoppers the chance to see first-hand where their food comes from.
The campaign kicks off with a series of TV adverts filmed on the same day of broadcast. The unprecedented short timescales between filming and screening will give the advert immediacy and authenticity, said the retailer.
In what it claims is an industry first, the supermarket will also 'live stream' footage from its own farm, Leckford Estate in Hampshire.
Commuters at some of the UK's major train terminals, including Waterloo Station, will be able to watch live footage from three different locations of the Waitrose farm, including beehives, rapeseed and panoramic views of the countryside.
The opening TV advert, which was broadcast across the UK this week, came from a dairy farm near Newbury that supplies milk to Waitrose.
Waitrose guarantees that all the cows that provide its milk and cream have access to grazing. One of the dairy cows wears a small, lightweight camera using innovative technology means the supermarket can demonstrate its sourcing credentials in a contemporary way.
Further adverts will highlight how Waitrose guarantees that all its eggs are free-range, and that all its fish is responsibly sourced.
All genuine farms, the advertising campaign will feature David Homer's dairy farm near Newbury who supplies the supermarket with essential Waitrose milk; and a free-range hen farm managed by Rachel Rivers near Marlborough, who supply Waitrose with its free-range eggs.
Speaking on the new campaign, Rupert Thomas, marketing director at Waitrose, said, "We've always been proud of where our food comes from, and the care and commitment our farmers and suppliers put into producing it. We have never compromised on quality, and never will - but rather than telling customers what we do, we've decided to show them in an open and honest way.”
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