The Dutch do not eat enough vegetables – an average of 125 grams per day, half the recommended amount. This prompted HAK to launch information campaigns on the importance of consuming enough vegetables. But the message that vegetables in jars are just as healthy as fresh vegetables remains hard to sell: they are perceived as containing excessive levels of preservatives, sodium and sugar. With its new online ‘Pottenkijkers’ platform, the producer aims to eradicate these unfounded prejudices and preconceptions, says Nicole Freid, Director Marketing & Innovation at HAK.
hat’s unusual: a producer who literally opens its doors to consumers and journalists. How did this idea come about?
“We already knew from our research that there are many misconceptions about vegetables in glass jars. Many people believe these to be less healthy than fresh vegetables, and think that all sorts of additives and flavouring are added to them. During last year’s successful campaign with Herman den Blijker, this was a recurring reproach on social media. The critics’ main contention was that Herman should not really lend himself for promoting cooking with – supposedly inferior, etc. –vegetables and legumes in jars. So we sat down with our advertising agency to come up with ways of serving up the truth.
This gave birth to the ‘Pottenkijkers’ platform: we let critical and interested consumers and journalists see with their own eyes how we source the vegetables from the land and what we do with them. Businesses normally do not welcome snooping, but HAK does. We are eager to let people see what exactly goes into our glass jars and how responsibly we go about this.”