Three Danish supermarkets launch first joint campaign to promote MSC labelled products
Sep 03, 2012
Coop, Dansk Supermarked and SuperGros will turn their focus to certified sustainable seafood in a new joint nationwide marketing campaign. The initiative is the first of its kind worldwide: three competing retailers joining forces to promote sustainable seafood to consumers.
Danish consumers across the country will have their appetite whetted by the blå fisk (blue fish) campaign as they visit supermarkets, browse through consumer magazines (reaching more than 2.7 million people), look at high impact point-of-sale materials, outdoor ads and online campaigns. It will also help increase shopper awareness and enable them to make a sustainable choice when buying seafood.
Historic agreement for more sustainable seafood
The three retailers participating in the campaign, who together account for most of the Danish supermarkets, have teamed up with the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), eight leading Danish seafood brands and the Danish Fishermen's Producer Organization (DFPO) [1] for the first MSC campaign in Denmark.
Nicolas Guichoux, MSC Director Europe says; "This is a truly amazing demonstration of support for sustainable seafood. The MSC has run a multitude of joint marketing campaigns around the world but
...never have so many competing retailers, representing more than 90 per cent of the food distribution in one country, embarked on a joint marketing campaign.
never have so many competing retailers, representing more than 90 per cent of the food distribution in one country, embarked on a joint marketing campaign."
He adds that "the MSC sees great value in all our partners, especially fisheries, building consumer awareness in Denmark, as there is an increasing demand for sustainable products in the marketplace and there are over 500 MSC labelled products for Danish consumers to choose from."
Commitment to sustainable fisheries
It is not only the Danish supermarkets that stand out for their commitment to sustainable seafood. There is also significant support in Danish waters, where three-quarters of the Danish fisheries are already certified to the MSC environmental standard for sustainable and well-managed fisheries.
The DFPO has the ambition to have all Danish fisheries engaged in the MSC program; a goal that Danish consumers can also contribute to, says Karoline Rahbek, Marketing Campaign Coordinator for the Marine Stewardship Council in the Baltic region:
"Every time you put an MSC labelled product in the shopping basket, you reward the fishers, producers and distributors that are helping create a market for sustainably caught seafood, and incentivise others to demonstrate they are fishing sustainably and sourcing seafood from certified sustainable fisheries."
[1] Danish Fishermen's Producer Organization (DFPO) represents 1029 commercial fishing vessels from ports all over Denmark. The primary goal of the DFPO is to secure the right balance between supply and demand for the seafood, its member’s land, through ensuring and improving the quality, availability and market conditions of the products. For more information on the DFPO and its concerted sustainability effort, see www.msc-fiskere.dk
