Background
The campaign “5 am Tag” encourages people to increase their consumption of fruits and vegetables to at least 5 servings (650 g) per day, of which 3 should be vegetables and 2 should be fruits. 5 servings mean 5 handful. So, adults enjoy large servings and children smaller according to their age.
The Campaign is based on a mutual-benefit association which was established in May 2000. Members of the association meld government institutions, non-government organizations, health insurance companies, manufacturing companies, fruit and vegetable production as well as marketing organizations, caterers and retailers. The Association is funded by annual member contributions (augmented by project related grants from government and EU government bodies). The membership is open to all who relate to the aims and the articles of association.
Description
The message “5 am Tag” refers to fruit and vegetables both fresh and processed. Processed products are included if they comply with the requirements of the German association for nutrition, meaning that they are only minimally sugared or salted and have a low fat content. Furthermore, juices (100% fruit) and nuts (unsalted, unroasted) are also included.
The campaign, which was co-financed by the European Union from 2002 to 2017, aims to everyone. The motto: Eating and drinking with 5 a day is to be realized effortlessly and delicious. There are no prohibitions. Allowed is what tastes and so everyone easily and effectively can influence his well-being. The recipe: To make fruit and vegetables so temptingly available that having some becomes an increasingly normal habit. Therefor 5 am Tag forms concepts and measures. An attractive offer of fruits and vegetables in the areas of life, where people spend most of their time during the day, such as school and workplace, is especially targeted. To reach them, the campaign operates through connecting to their daily touch points like canteens, supermarkets and other shops, nutritional advisory and health care services etc.
To reach public confidence in the campaign, the German Society for Nutrition ensures the validity of all nutritional statements made in the name of the 5 am Tag Association, and defines and updates nutritional guidelines for the use of the 5 am Tag logo. On joining the 5 am Tag Association members can use the logo only in according with these guidelines.
Activities
The strategy for the previous years has been characterized by the concentration on:
- a single subject area: snacks,
- two living environments: school and workplace,
- proven behaviour-changing arguments and environmental preventive measures and
- conversational tools of communication.
Popular are initiatives and activities for health promotion at the workplace, such as a project in small and medium-sized companies, which links the aspects of diet, exercise and relaxation. Company fruit subscriptions have proven to be a particularly convenient and sustainable measure. At an online marketplace 5 am Tag brings together all interested companies and suppliers, which is a win-win situation for both employees as well as dealers.
5 am Tag has also become an integral part of school life. The association’s longstanding commitment to a school fruit programme in Germany has played an important part in ensuring that today pupils in 12 Federal States are provided with free fruit and vegetables in their school breaks. Furthermore, new projects continuously enrich school life, be it the LIDL fruit school, the REWE school cone campaign or the 5 am Tag initiative “Plant your own sandwich”, where children plant their own 5 am Tag vegetable patch and get a taste for the matter in a particularly playful way.
These and other offers are accompanied by attention-grabbing 5 am Tag information materials, events and promotions, continuous public relations as well as a modern presence on the web and in social media.
Because for the Germans it is important to see information regarding health-promoting properties on products, members and contract-partners of the 5 am Tag association are encouraged to use the logo in their own marketing programmes so long as these are in accordance with the scientific regulations.
Results
The campaign is probably the best-known nutrition campaign in Germany and has a prominent level of credibility. More than half of the German population currently knows the 5 am Tag nutritional rule (58%, representative inquest study 2016 on behalf of 5 am Tag e.V.). Currently, an average approx. 3 servings of fruit and vegetables are consumed a day.
According to the survey meanwhile gets approx. one-third of all professionals regular fruit and vegetable offers by their employers. These results are confirming the focus on environmental preventive measures and on the target audience of professionals and children at school.
Projects by the 5 am Tag campaign “Pflanz dir dein Schulbrot” (plant your own sandwich) and “Frucht am Arbeitsplatz” (fruit at the workplace) since 2013 have been using the logo “Unterstützt die Ziele von IN FORM” (support the goals of IN FORM) and thus have been distinguished as exemplary for healthy nutrition.
More information
www.5amtag.de (Campaign)
www.5amtag.org (Association)
www.facebook.com/5amTagDeutschland
Contact
5 am Tag e.V.
Servicebüro
c/o trio-market-relations gmbh
Carl-Reuther-Straße 1
D – 68305 Mannheim
T + 49 621 33840-114
F + 49 621 33840-161
info@5amtag.de