In the latest Bees Knees Comms-Cast episode, we speak with Alexia Robinson, founder of Love British Food, the movement behind ‘British Food Fortnight’.

Although British Food Fortnight has become a well-known campaign running during harvest time, the work of Love British Food goes much further. Alexia shares how the campaign is shaping real, lasting change in the food sector through strategic communication, with Pinstone MD and founder, Catherine Linch.

Driving producer confidence

Love British Food was born in 2003, following the devastation of the foot and mouth outbreak, which brought British farming to a standstill.

Alexia, a management consultant at the time, recognised a need for the British public to support local farmers and decided to create a national celebration of British food.

British Food Fortnight was born out of this desire to give farmers confidence that consumers wanted to buy British produce. The event, timed to fall during harvest, celebrates British food and encourages consumers to buy local, but the initiative’s true power lies in its ability to drive year-round behavioural change.

Grassroots communication

What sets Love British Food apart is its grassroots, bottom-up approach to communications.

While many campaigns rely on top-down strategies, Alexia’s campaign focuses on community involvement, empowering local individuals and organisations to act as "change makers" within their communities.

Through her experience in change management at Accenture, Alexia learned that real change comes from engaging local communities, not just top-level conversations with government officials or an annual day in the calendar to create a buzz.

By empowering those on the ground, the Love British Food campaign encourages individuals to advocate for British food, both within their networks and through local, national, and even public sector initiatives.

Making an impact in public sector and beyond

Alexia’s approach to working with the hospitality sector has had a huge impact. Recognising that food service and hospitality sectors buy more food than all supermarkets combined, Love British Food focuses on engaging with these sectors to create lasting partnerships.

In addition, Love British Food has expanded into the public sector, working with NHS catering teams to promote local, sustainable food. By organising farm visits for NHS caterers, the campaign has helped foster a deeper understanding of the importance of nutritious, British food. This approach has led to several NHS trusts integrating more British food into their menus, helping support local farmers and promote sustainability across the public sector.

One of Alexia’s proudest moments was creating a guide for schools to incorporate food education into the national curriculum, which was endorsed by both the Department of Health and the Department for Education. This initiative empowered teachers to teach students about the value of British food and was instrumental in spreading the message of British Food Fortnight across schools nationwide.

Communications that go beyond the headlines

The key takeaway from Alexia’s journey is the importance of community-driven communication. It’s not just about one-off events or social media posts; it’s about embedding sustainable, British food messaging into the everyday lives of people across the country. Love British Food has shown that through bottom-up engagement, the food sector can create lasting, impactful change that goes beyond the headlines and into the hearts and minds of communities.

For more on how you can get involved with British Food Fortnight and support the movement, visit Love British Food.

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