Award-winning Bedfordshire grower, Paul Cripsey, is to become one of the faces of a national campaign when Musgrave Budgens Londis (MBL) launches its latest initiative to promote the Red Tractor logo next week throughout its Budgens stores.
Mr Cripsey has worked for FB Parrish & Sons, a specialist onion grower based in Chicksands, for 30 years. He has made a personal promise about the onions he produces which will be displayed in Budgens stores nationwide. The work is part of the promise campaign, a national initiative devised originally by the NFU to promote the Red Tractor logo, and to which MBL was the first retailer to sign up.
Mr Cripsey said: “We have been supplying Budgens for over 14 years now. I’m really proud of the produce we supply to Budgens customers and I’m proud of the high standards we uphold on the farm as part of Red Tractor assurance. That’s why we made a promise.
“This campaign is playing an important role in putting back the link between farmers and growers and the end customer, so I really support it.”
Paul Cripsey’s promise reads: “I promise to continue to grow award winning onions.”
Mr Cripsey’s picture, along with images of 11 other farmers and growers from around the country, will feature on promotional material in Budgens stores. In addition, promises from more than 40 other producers will appear on a wide range of products, from broccoli to bacon.
The NFU, and tractor manufacturer, Massey Ferguson, launched the campaign last year with a competition to generate promises from assured farmers with more than 3,500 promises collected. Now Budgens is collecting promises from farmers and growers as well as packers, buyers, store managers and assistants – in fact, everyone who makes up the supply chain. Budgens is the first retailer to adopt the promise campaign in its stores.
NFU deputy president Peter Kendall said: “The NFU is delighted to see real farmers being featured at Budgens stores. The Red Tractor logo is a vital tool for Britain’s farmers and growers. It tells shoppers that their food is independently inspected and helps them make the conscious choice to buy British in one simple logo. Budgens’ in-store support of the Promise Campaign demonstrates its commitment to British producers and to promoting the Red Tractor logo to its customers.”
Steve Carter, MBL’s Head of Fresh Food Buying, said: “Budgens has a history of long, loyal relationships with our producers and we want our customers to have a relationship with them, too, through these promises. Budgens is a long-standing supporter of the Red Tractor symbol and we are the first retailer to use the promise campaign. We’re really pleased to be rolling out the promises across so many products and have pulled out all the stops to launch this phase of the promise campaign to coincide with British Food Fortnight (24 September – 9 October) which we sponsor.”
David Sleath, UK sales director for Massey Ferguson, who sponsored the campaign for the NFU, said: “We have been helping the NFU to promote the Red Tractor since its launch. We are delighted to see the promise campaign adopted by a retailer and proud to put our big red tractor behind this latest part of the little Red Tractor’s journey.”