"5 am tag" - Eine untersuchung am point of sale

Since its foundation in 2000, the German "5 a day" initiative has included public and private partners in its campaign to increase fruit and vegetable consumption in Germany. The present contribution deals with the effectiveness of a two-week information campaign in a supermarket in Kiel, a town in northern Germany. Before, during and after the campaign a total of 552 consumers were interviewed about their knowledge of the "5 a day" logo and their fruit and vegetable consumption habits. The results have shown that the recognition rate of the logo increased from 17% to 45%. Even 10 weeks after the campaign, 33% still recognized the logo and the message of the logo was better understood. Consumers also realized that the action was a health campaign and not a promotional campaign of the supermarket. While average daily consumption usually is 1.5 servings of fruits and 1.1 servings of vegetables, recognition of the logo was associated with higher fruit and vegetable consumption. Lack of time and laziness were the main reasons of insufficient fruit and vegetable consumption. Future campaigns should hence also include convenience-oriented produce. In this regard, the food industry can be engaged to play a proactive role in designing healthy ready-to-eat-products.