Love Island’s Iain Stirling fronts McCain campaign

McCain Foods has unveiled a new campaign featuring Love Island commentator Iain Stirling, which highlights the positive impact regenerative farming can have on the planet.

The Let’s All Chip In campaign film features Iain Stirling away from his usual recording studio, spending time with McCain farmer, Imogen Stanley, at her family’s farm in Oxfordshire. 

Throughout the film, Iain learns about the regenerative farming methods that Imogen is beginning to implement, and why these are so important to the future of farming and the planet.

New research commissioned by McCain has found that almost a third (30%) of Brits do not know what farms do or where their food comes from, with Gen Z over four times more likely than over 55s to admit to this lack of understanding (61% vs 13%). Gen Z are also twice as likely as over 55s to be concerned about the environmental impact of the products they buy at the supermarket (57% vs 29%).

The campaign aims to highlight the positive impact regenerative agriculture can have on the environment and the food we eat, educating the Gen Z and millennial audience on the need for a sustainable transition.

To combat increasingly frequent climatic events and help ensure long-term food security, shifting to a more sustainable farming system is essential.  Sustainable farming is key pillar within McCain’s sustainability strategy, with the business committed to implementing 100% regenerative agriculture practices across its potato acreage by 2030.

The “Let’s All Chip In” campaign highlights the benefits of regenerative agriculture, with the brand committing to support its 250 British growers in transitioning to more sustainable methods of farming.

• McCain has recently partnered with NatWest to remove financial barriers for potato farmers who are transitioning to sustainable farming practices. Through its asset finance arm Lombard, NatWest now offers a first-of-its-kind initiative in the UK which sees the bank provide additional financial support to McCain potato farmers. McCain has committed to offer a contribution towards the interest payable for assets that support regenerative agriculture practices.
• Other initiatives include grants for cover crop seed and fully funding soil health assessments, as well as offering free pollinator seed this spring.
• McCain joined the Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI) Agribusiness Task Force alongside a number of businesses and NGOs to further accelerate the scaling of greener practices in the farming industry worldwide, which have been hampered by high costs.
• McCain has committed to investing in three Farms of the Future by 2025, to help advance sustainable farming practices and explore innovative agricultural technologies. Farms in New Brunswick, Canada, and Lichtenburg, South Africa, are already operational. The specialist farms showcase how regenerative farming practices, and the latest agricultural innovations can be implemented at scale.

Additionally, McCain has invested a further £50m into contract pricing for its farmers over the last two years, with the investment helping to safeguard the future of potato farming in the UK.

On the new campaign, James Young, VP agriculture at McCain Foods GB said: “We are pleased to launch our new Let’s All Chip In campaign to highlight the need to scale up the transition to regenerative agriculture. The case for making our food systems more sustainable and resilient has never been clearer, and we believe agriculture is an integral part of the solution. We are very proud to now raise awareness with our consumers about the fantastic progress that is ongoing on farm as we work towards our 100% Regenerative Agriculture ambition by 2030.”