DoH to launch Start4Life sub-brand

The Government will launch a sub-brand of its Change4Life anti-obesity campaign to promote the importance of diet during breastfeeding and weaning, Marketing Week has learned.

Department of Health communications director-general Sian Jarvis says the sub-brand will probably be called “Start4Life” to complement its mother and baby intervention programme Sure Start.

A commercial partner “may” be sought to support the roll-out and promotional awareness of the initiative she adds. Partners already signed up to lend promotional support to Change4life under the Business4life programme that could get involved are Tesco, Danone and Nestlé.

Rules on the use of sub-brands, which currently include Play4Life and Breakfast4Life, by partner commercial companies were finalised at a meeting between officials and public and private partners at the DoH last week.

So far, 76 companies including Britvic, Cadbury and Kellogg have signed up as commercial partners to help promote Change4life initiatives.

Some promotional activity has stalled because of health organisations’ concerns that the use of sub-brands on food packs could be misread as a health mark.

The Change4Life umbrella brand is not allowed to be used by partners on products in order to meet such concerns. Jarvis says guidance on sub-brand use will be published shortly.