M&S runs reassurance campaign on chicken

Marks & Spencer has launched a three-day print advertising campaign to reassure customers about the origins of its chicken products. It comes amid concerns over the bird flu epidemic in south-east Asia – a third of all chicken consumed in the European Union comes from Thailand.

The M&S campaign was launched on Sunday, to inform consumers that all of the chain’s chicken is sourced in the UK and Europe. The ads carry the strapline: “We trace it so you can trust it”, and points consumers to M&S’s food website, where consumers can find out more about where its chicken comes from.

An M&S spokeswoman says that the company launched the campaign in response to the high level of enquiries it received from customers over the weekend. She adds that because M&S only sells own-label food brands, it is able to reassure its consumers in a way that most supermarkets cannot. It claims to be the only retailer that exclusively uses UK and EU farmers to supply it with chicken.

The fears over the safety of chicken come just weeks after a report by American scientists claimed that Scottish farmed salmon contained cancer-causing toxins, sparking similar fears among consumers. Industry insiders say they expect consumers to demand increasing honesty from food retailers and manufacturers about where they source ingredients and products.

The M&S spokeswoman says that the chain did not launch a campaign reassuring consumers over Scottish salmon because it had not received the same level of enquiries. She adds that M&S plans to supply consumers with information about the source of its products as part of its brand message.