FARMA, the trade association the works to represent Farm Shops and Farmers’ Markets that are located across the UK has praised the news that the Supermarket brand Morrisons has vowed to never use ‘fake farms’ as part of their product packaging and branding.
These fake farm brands have gained the public’s attention recently, with Supermarkets wanting to create a brand that sells, giving the impression that produce is locally sourced. More consumers are becoming knowledgeable about the source of their food and demanding higher standards such as free range products. As a part of this, some shops have created a brand that appears to offer these standards with a fake farm name on the label.
FARMA has around 400 members in the UK, and they have been concerned about the way that supermarkets have been marketing their fresh produce, using non-existent locations and farms. This marketing can lead to confusion as consumers seek to know more about their food. Members of FARMA give their customers the confidence to buy produce knowing that they are buying locally sourced meat, fruit and vegetables. In terms of farm shops, the produce is often grown on the same farm that it is sold.
The NFU have also been campaigning in order to try and put a stop to this misleading marketing operation, and made a formal complaint to National Trading Standards last year. It is great news that Morrisons has publicly taken a stand against such marketing ploys with their packaging, saying that they will only use real place names and farm names on their packaging and branding. However, despite this good news, there are still a number of Supermarkets across the UK that still have this branding.
The question is, with one of the largest Supermarket brands in the UK taking a stand against this marketing ploy, will all of the others follow suit?
