Why You Should be Snacking on Dried Fruit
South Africa’s first-ever Dried Fruit Month kicked off on 1 March. Spearheaded by Dried Fruit South Africa, the campaign aims to remind and educate consumers about the natural goodness of dried fruit. At the same time, it also wants to dispel some of the myths that have arisen around this wholesome pantry staple in recent years.
While there are have been many myths floating around about dried fruit, this new campaign hopes to educate consumers on the benefits of dried fruit as integral to a balanced lifestyle and as a healthier snacking alternative. So don’t be swayed by misinformation, and instead ‘get real’ about including dried fruit into a more wholesome and balanced lifestyle.
Ferdie Botha, CEO of Raisins SA explains that somewhere in recent history, dried fruit seemed to suddenly get a bad rap: “We suspect it was around the same time that the diet industry rebranded itself as the wellness industry. And that’s why we decided that with Dried Fruit Month we would also separate fact from fiction when it comes to consumers’ perceptions about dried fruit.”
To really give the campaign legs, the Dried Fruit SA team came up with a fun, exciting, and somewhat unexpected focus for the month-long campaign — a beauty pageant. But, this isn’t your stereotypical beauty pageant. Instead of pretty women vying for the crown, the contestants in the ‘Miss Real Deal Pageant’ line-up represent different types of dried fruit. And they are all quite inspirational.
“We wanted to play on the idea of reminding consumers to not be fooled by external appearance, fake news, fake experts or fake science,” Botha explains.
The premise is that the seven dried fruit contestants are all ready to prove that they are the real deal when it comes to being the ultimate snack. Each authentically shares their unique traits and versatility while being fully body-positive, full of life and here to stay.
The campaign will be hosted online for the duration of Dried Fruit Month and the seven contestants can be followed on Facebook and Instagram where they will inspire, inform and entertain the public. And prove that they have what it takes to #GetReal.
A new series of wholesome recipes developed by a team of local nutritionists will be released throughout the month. Also, available as a download is the Dried Fruit SA Kids Activity E-Book. It was created to support parents to help engage their children in healthy eating experiences, to teach them to recognise different dried fruits, and to encourage them to experiment with new foods, tastes flavours, colours and textures.