Red Tractor, the UK’s largest food and farming assurance scheme, has today launched a new logo which aims to set out the credentials of the food which carries its logo.
The new visual identity addresses a number of the challenges that the British food and farming industry face – clearly differentiating to consumers the food which has been carefully produced to world-leading standards, to ensure that it is safe and fully traceable.
The design reflects the work that Red Tractor has been undertaking to help improve its status and emotional engagement with consumers.
Drawing on its 20-year history of checking British-sourced food and drink all the way along its journey from farm to pack, the new logo retains the union flag to signify that the product has been grown, reared, processed and packed in the UK.
The key changes to the logo are:
- The recognised name of the scheme – ‘Red Tractor’ replacing Assured Food Standards
- An updated tractor to modernise its appearance and to bring it in to line with the TV advert’s look and feel
- The red tractor sitting on a ‘tick’ – recognised by shoppers as indicating that the product has been checked
- The words ‘Certified Standards’ to clarify what Red Tractor does
- The heart in the wheel, to demonstrate the care and attention that is taken to produce the food
The launch comes as new research has found that Red Tractor has a much higher level of awareness than all other food assurance marques. Eight out of ten shoppers are aware of the logo and see it as a positive, reassuring on-pack signpost in supermarkets.
Red Tractor CEO Jim Moseley said: “While it’s great news that almost 80% of British shoppers recognise Red Tractor and see it positively, our research also found that people were uncertain of what sits behind the logo or its benefits.
“Given the great care and attention that Red Tractor and our farmers put into ensuring that the food we eat is safe and fully traceable, we owe it to our members to improve shoppers’ and diners’ understanding of the scheme.
“Created 20 years ago to rebuild trust in British Agriculture after a spate of food scares, the logo was designed to be very utilitarian. Two decades on, we are facing a new watershed moment, with the market facing huge uncertainty with the ongoing trade negotiations.
“At this time it is critical that we help shoppers to clearly differentiate which food has been produced and checked to world-leading standards from farm to pack – and the simplest way to do this is to look for the Red Tractor and the tick.”
Red Tractor is a unique assurance scheme covering animal welfare, food safety, traceability and environmental protection from farm to pack. This ensures that families across Britain have access to safe and affordable food.
With over 46,000 British farmer members, approximately 75% of UK agricultural output is Red Tractor assured. Membership provides a route to market to the major supermarkets and some of the UK’s largest customers – resulting in over £14 billion of British produced food and drink carrying the logo.
He added: “The new look for Red Tractor is one of a number of new initiatives we have been working on to improve shopper understanding, increase choice and to strengthen the robustness of the scheme.
“We believe passionately that hard-pressed and time-poor Brits shouldn’t have to work hard to buy quality food they can trust, whatever their budget. And by choosing the Red Tractor, they are helping to foster a better future for British agriculture, farmers, growers and producers.”
The roll out of the new logo is expected to take around 18 months as many of the UK’s popular brands update their packaging. It will be supported by a new 12-month £2 million ‘Tractor Test’ campaign, designed to increase shopper understanding of Red Tractor by getting the nation to think about the food they buy, where it comes from and how it’s been produced.
Using seasonal produce and other core categories the campaign will illustrate the journey Red Tractor food has taken, the quality of the standards and robustness of the scheme – from farm to pack.
The campaign will kick off with the popular Red Tractor TV ad running on prime-time TV, digital channels and on-demand over Easter.