Waitrose is making it easier for customers to eat the recommended 30 plants a week with the launch of its new ‘plant varieties’ logo on pack – ideal for food lovers looking to diversify their diets.
This follows new research by Waitrose highlighting that almost half (46%) are already trying to eat, or are interested in eating, 30 different plants a week*.
The logo represents a first for supermarket own label products in the UK and will be appearing on over 50 new products including fresh soups, snacks and cereal in January, and added to more products throughout the year. In the survey conducted by Waitrose*, 87% said that having the number of plant varieties on labels would help them actively try to eat 30 different plants a week.
Meal planning can be a dull task for shoppers – the plant varieties logo is an easy tool for customers to see the number of plants in products and recipes, helping them to add more variety and feel inspired when it comes to mid-week meals. And it doesn’t mean cooking from scratch – products like our Vietnamese Style Vegetable Pancakes with a Lime and Chilli Dip have 11 plant varieties, taking customers to a third of their weekly goal of 30 in one meal!
With surprising inclusions such as herbs, spices and even 70% dark chocolate counting as plants, the new logo will help highlight that introducing 30 different plants into your diet is not as difficult as you might think. This is something customers aren’t currently aware of with coffee (59%), dark chocolate (45%) and spices (42%) all coming top of products not considered as a plant in the survey.
Dr Joanne Lunn, Lead Nutritionist, said: “Eating 30 different plants each week is a delicious way to a healthier gut microbiome, taking advantage of all the nutritional benefits of different types of plants. Whether it’s mixing more different herbs and spices into your meals, snacking on mixed nuts or adding lentils into your bolognese sauce, there are lots of ways to reach 30 plants. The new logo is a great way to teach customers about plants in food and how to integrate more variety into the diet.”
Maddy Wilson, Director of Own Brand, Waitrose, said: “When you’re a food lover, you want to make every meal one to remember but are still conscious about making good choices. Adding the plant varieties logo to our products takes the brain power away from adding variety to your diet and eating well and brings the focus back to delicious meals – which we know is so important for our customers.”
The 30 plants a week guidance has been supported by experts such as ZOE and proven to increase gut microbiome and improve gut performance which has vast health benefits.
The introduction of plant varieties logo and guidance comes after Waitrose committed to helping customers to eat more plants, having also committed to increasing fibre sold from key categories by 25% by 2030.
For more information about the new logo and tips on how to include more plants in your diet, take a look at Waitrose.com.