Whole Earth, the Ectotone UK-owned natural peanut butter, has renewed its partnership with Team GB in advance of the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The collaboration will see the brand become the official peanut butter partner for the UK squad, building on the successful Tokyo 2020 partnership.
Delivering an integrated mix of advertising, in-store marketing, PR, experiential and social media, Whole Earth will support Team GB athletes with the campaign’s £3m investment.
Whole Earth will be tapping into the high-profile partnership to help to raise awareness among new consumers and increase household penetration to 50% – which is currently the same level as products such as honey.
This would represent an £18m category opportunity, as peanut butter consumption in the UK currently sits at 42% in the UK, compared to other markets, such as the Netherlands and the US, where it sits above 80%.
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To achieve this goal, Whole Earth hopes the Team GB partnership will challenge the misconception that peanut butter is detrimental to health – which is seen as, the brand believes, one of the key barriers to its purchase.
“Peanut butter is often seen as a treat rather than an everyday food due to the misconception that it’s not good for us,” said Ecotone Whole Earth brand controller, Nicola Turner.
“We want to show that for many Team GB athletes – some of the healthiest people in the UK – Whole Earth peanut butter plays a star role in their diets due to it being full of goodness with no added sugar, and its winning nutty taste,” Turner concluded.
British Olympic Association commercial director, Tim Ellerton, spoke of the association’s “delight” at joining forces with the food brand again.
He commented: “Our participation at an Olympic Games is wholly reliant on the support of our valued partners, and we are looking forward to working with Whole Earth to develop new and exciting plans for the year ahead.”
Whole Earth, in its commitment to demonstrate the health value of peanut butter, is also the headline sponsor for the annual Man v Horse race in Wales, has also partnered with The British Triathlon Federation for many years.
Earlier this year, the brand celebrated Pancake Day with a campaign aimed at promoting peanut butter to the UK’s top ten toppings preferences, accompanied by the release of Whole Earth’s new squeezy packaging.
