Most of the UK’s major supermarkets and discounters have joined forces to help improve the UK’s declining vegetable consumption.

According to the Food Foundation, 80% of adults and children - and 95% of teenagers - do not eat enough vegetables, while new Euromonitor data shows that the UK ranks 21 out of 28 in the EU for fresh vegetable consumption.

The Peas Please initiative will see The Co-op Group, Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose, plus discounters Aldi and Lidl, develop and promote more vegetable products and prioritise their in-store positioning.

As part of its pledge to drive up veg consumption, The Co-op will ensure fresh vegetables are included in ongoing meal deal promotions, place the Peas Please advertising on till screens, and highlight the importance of eating five portions of fruit and vegetables a day in all monthly issues of Co-op Food magazine and on social channels.

Waitrose has committed to recommending other vegetables each time a customer puts a vegetable in their online basket.

Aldi will run 12 dedicated TV campaigns to highlight promotions on fruit and vegetables, and will position vegetable offerings in higher footfall areas of its stores.

The move comes as ITV and Veg Power joined forces to launch a major new national advertising campaign designed to boost vegetable consumption.

The campaign, which is being financed by Iceland, Lidl, Marks and Spencer, Morrisons and Waitrose as part of the Veg Power fund, is designed to appeal to children, and will be shown across ITV channels from January.

The Veg Power initiative, developed by The Food Foundation and Peas Please, aims to boost vegetable consumption via advertising and marketing.