Riverford Organic Farmers

BACKGROUND
Riverford is an employee-owned organic veg box company that has long championed better farming, better food and a fairer food system.

Alongside growing and delivering seasonal organic produce, the business has built a reputation as an activist brand, campaigning on issues affecting farmers, consumers and the environment.

OBJECTIVE
The campaign needed to reinforce Riverford’s activist credentials while highlighting a key point of difference from conventional growers: organic farmers like Riverford do not use glyphosate.

STRATEGY
Simply telling people to “buy organic” wouldn’t cut through.

Instead, we focused on exposing a hidden part of the food system that affects millions of consumers but remains largely unknown. By shining a light on pre-harvest glyphosate use, we could demonstrate Riverford’s values through action, rather than advertising.

Just as importantly, we took a balanced approach that recognised the commercial pressures many farmers face, positioning Riverford as campaigning for systemic change rather than blaming those working within the system.

ACTIVITY
We launched Grievous Biological Harm, a public campaign calling for an end to pre-harvest use of glyphosate-based herbicides (GBH) in the UK.

The campaign was backed by more than 75 chefs, environmental campaigners, MPs and industry organisations, including Rick Stein, Gizzi Erskine, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, and George Monbiot.

To build the story, we commissioned consumer research revealing widespread concern about chemical residues in food, despite low awareness of glyphosate itself. We supported the campaign with a dedicated landing page, campaign film, striking photography and proactive media outreach, directing audiences towards the petition, in partnership with the Soil Association, at every opportunity.

RESULTS
The campaign generated 232 pieces of coverage, including 17 national, 10 broadcast (including BBC Radio 4’s flagship news programme, The Today Programme) 13 consumer and 21 trade features, reaching a total audience of more than 342 million.

The winning coverage though came from The Times, with a headline that epitomised our strategic aim – encouraging people to turn towards organic: ‘How to buy organic food and wine – as a controversial weedkiller used on UK crops makes headlines, Guilia Crouch looks at the organic food boom and what’s worth buying’.

Sunny Side Up says: “Riverford has never been a brand that’s afraid to challenge the food system. Our role was to turn a complex agricultural issue into a campaign people could understand, engage with and act on, while staying true to Riverford’s long-standing commitment to better farming. All while helping to direct more consumers to consider buying organic.” – Antonia Paget, Senior Account Director