A new partnership between Cadbury and the Premier League which promotes a healthy lifestyle program aimed at schoolchildren has come under fire from health critics. While Mondelez International is announcing its new three-year deal with the Premier League, health experts are saying chocolate should not be associated with healthy lifestyles and have branded the collaboration a “marketing ploy”.
Speaking to FoodIngredientsFirst, Tam Fry, patron of the Child Growth Foundation and spokesperson for the National Obesity Forum in the UK, says: “If the sponsorship meant that a host of kids would be encouraged to exercise and kick footballs to kingdom come but didn't come near a bar of chocolate, the Forum might regard it as money well spent.”
“But since the Premier League is rich enough to do this on its own anyway and Cadbury could be looking at a downturn in the confectionery market, we regard this as little more than a marketing ploy.”
“Since children currently consume two to three times more sugar than they should we would welcome the deal only if Cadbury produced a sugar-free product ".
The partnership kicks off from the start of the 2017/18 season and brings together two iconic names “that have a unique place within popular culture, and the hearts of people in the UK and Ireland”, according to Mondelez International, owners of British multinational confectionery brand Cadbury.
It follows another controversial partnership deal involving Cadbury during the London 2012 Olympics.
Cadbury will join forces with the Premier League to deliver a bespoke element of Mondelez International’s existing community program Health for Life, which is currently focused on making a sustained difference to the lifestyles of 60,000 school children, claims the company.
Cadbury and the Premier League will work together to create new, tailored modules focused on healthy lifestyles, expanding the program’s reach to inspire young people in schools across the country.
Health for Life is a £3.1 million (US$5 million) five-year program which seeks to achieve a sustained difference in healthy lifestyles, through activities that engage people in growing food, physical activity, healthy eating and cookery. The program takes a whole community approach to support children, adults and families to live healthier lifestyles for generations to come and has, to date, reached over 150,000 people.
“For over a hundred years Cadbury has been about bringing little moments of joy to people’s lives, something that fits well with the joy created by Premier League football every day – whether it’s a moment of magic that turns a match, watching a game together with loved ones or just debating the weekend’s goals with friends,” says Francesco Vitrano, Cadbury brand director.
“This partnership opens up fantastic opportunities to bring those moments of joy to life in new and different ways – in-store, on our packaging, in the community and other ways we hope will surprise and delight our customers. This is an incredibly exciting chance to bring together the Cadbury brand with the unmistakable Premier League brand, and a chance to be part of moments such as the Golden Boot and Golden Glove awards, and we can’t wait to start this journey with the Premier League.”
Premier League managing director, Richard Masters, says he is very pleased to be entering into a new partnership with Cadbury.
“Cadbury’s popularity across the world, and our shared focus on delivering moments of joy, make this a great fit for the Premier League and we are thrilled they have chosen to work with us in what is their first ever partnership in football.”
“We are really looking forward to working with Cadbury to celebrate the excitement of the competition, and on the plans we have to jointly grow and enhance their Health for Life project as part of the Premier League’s wide-ranging community work.”
The agreement includes Cadbury enjoying a range of rights relating to player milestones – including the Premier League’s Golden Boot and Golden Glove awards.