Veg Power
Veg Power is a UK not-for-profit alliance running school and family campaigns to increase children's vegetable consumption. Its Eat Them to Defeat Them programme reaches 5,000+ schools and 2 million+ children, funded by horticulture sector membership fees, corporate sponsors, grants, and donated media.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Veg Power does
Veg Power is a UK not-for-profit Community Interest Company (C.I.C) founded in 2018 that operates an alliance model bringing together the horticulture sector, government bodies, media companies, and schools to increase vegetable, fruit, and bean consumption among UK children. Its core activity is delivering an integrated portfolio of school-based campaigns—anchored by the flagship Eat Them to Defeat Them programme (launched 2018, reaching over 2 million children across 5,000+ primary and special schools in 200+ local authority districts)—alongside Growing to Love (classroom growing kits), Attack the Snack (healthy snacking), Bang In Some Beans (sustainable protein/pulses mission with The Food Foundation), Breakfast in Colour (launching May 2026 with Good Food), Love Your Lunchbox, and #SeasonalVeg (led by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall).
The organization is not a technology business in the conventional sense. Its infrastructure consists of standard web platforms (WordPress sites such as vegpower.org.uk and schools.vegpower.org.uk), email marketing systems, and a partner registration platform; the core "product" is a library of curriculum-aligned digital resources (lesson plans, videos, social media content, recipes) animated in part through a long-running partnership with Aardman Animation using the Shaun the Sheep character.
Revenue is generated through four primary streams: (1) recurring horticulture sector membership fees paid by growers, importers, wholesalers, agronomy suppliers, and major grocers (Sainsbury's, Tesco, Co-op, Waitrose, Barfoots, Ocado, Hazera); (2) corporate sponsorships for specific campaigns (e.g., Tilda); (3) grants and government funding (notably a £1.4m award from the National Lottery Community Fund's Climate Action Fund for the beans project, plus local authority deployment funding across 200+ districts); and (4) in-kind media support, with ITV alone donating over £20 million in advertising value since 2018. Programmes are free to state-funded schools; the per-unit cost is nominal (£100 per class for Growing to Love, 50p per child for Eat Them to Defeat Them), funded by local authorities, growers, and caterers. A lean core team of 7-10 staff executes the work, with reach amplified through 100+ catering partners, celebrity ambassadors, and major creative and advertising partners (adam&eveDDB).
Veg Power firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Veg Power
- Legal name
- Veg Power C.I.C
- Website
- https://vegpower.org.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Veg Power is a UK not-for-profit alliance running school and family campaigns to increase children's vegetable consumption. Its Eat Them to Defeat Them programme reaches 5,000+ schools and 2 million+ children, funded by horticulture sector membership fees, corporate sponsors, grants, and donated media.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Veg Power industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Children Nutrition Education
- NAICS
- Elementary and Secondary Schools (611110), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Civic and Social Organizations (8134), Social Advocacy Organizations (81331)
- SIC
- Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)
- akta.pro primary industry
- School Feeding & Child Nutrition Programs (BPADAJAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- K–12 Support & School Improvement Nonprofits (BPAGADAB), Nutrition & Food Security (Global Health) NGOs (HLAJAKAH), Student Wellness & Prevention Programs (Substance Use, Sexual Health, Bullying) (EDAJAIAG)
Keywords
Where Veg Power is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Veg Power business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Horticulture Sector Membership: Core funding comes from commercial partners across the horticulture sector including growers, importers, wholesalers, agronomy suppliers, and major grocery retailers who pay membership fees to support the alliance.
- Corporate Sponsorships: Corporate partners provide funding aligned with charitable and business goals. Companies like Sainsburys, Co-op, Tilda, and others sponsor specific campaigns and receive visibility and association with the Veg Power brand.
- National Lottery Community Fund Grant: The beans project received £1.4m from The National Lottery Community Fund's Climate Action Fund to encourage people to eat sustainable food sources such as beans, lentils and pulses.
- Local Authority Funding: Local authorities provide funding to deploy campaigns in their communities. Over 200 local authority administrative districts have participated in Veg Power campaigns.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Annual | Eat Them to Defeat Them school programme |
| Unit Pricing | Annual | Growing to Love classroom programme |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels8 records
Veg Power product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Veg Power is a not-for-profit alliance that designs, delivers and promotes school-based food education campaigns (e.g. Eat Them to Defeat Them, Growing to Love, Attack the Snack, Bang In Some Beans, Breakfast in Colour, Love Your Lunchbox, Seasonal Veg) to increase children's consumption of vegetables, fruit and beans. The alliance is funded by horticulture-sector membership fees, corporate sponsorships (Sainsbury's, Tesco, Co-op, Waitrose, ITV, Tilda, etc.) and grants (National Lottery Community Fund), and distributes free curriculum-aligned resources, lesson plans, growing kits, media advertising and celebrity-led campaigns to over 5,000 UK primary and special schools, 200+ local authorities and 100+ catering companies.
Product overview
Veg Power is a not-for-profit alliance that operates as a platform of interconnected campaigns and resources. The core portfolio includes Eat Them to Defeat Them (flagship schools programme), Bang In Some Beans (bean promotion campaign), Attack the Snack (healthy snacking initiative), Breakfast in Colour (breakfast improvement campaign), Growing to Love (classroom growing programme), Love Your Lunchbox (packed lunch support), and Seasonal Veg (seasonal eating promotion). These campaigns are supported by Simply Veg (resources hub for families and professionals), Eat The Rainbow (Aardman-animated education resources), and Market Insight Reports (research publications). The programmes work together as an integrated system: schools programmes deliver curriculum-aligned activities while media campaigns reach families at home, supported by expert content and research evidence.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Eat Them to Defeat Them Multi-award-winning UK primary and special schools programme that combines curriculum-aligned activities, tasting sessions, reward stickers and media/advertising support to encourage children to eat more vegetables; over 2 million children have participated across 5,000+ schools.
- Bang In Some Beans Three-year campaign movement, partnered with The Food Foundation and funded by nearly £1.4m from The National Lottery Community Fund's Climate Action Fund, to put beans and pulses at the heart of the British diet across schools, caterers, families and food businesses.
- Attack the Snack Campaign to get children eating more fruit and vegetable snacks more often, featuring school programmes with lesson plans and activities, parent support resources and expert contributors from nutrition and psychology.
- Breakfast in Colour Social media and digital campaign to increase fruit, vegetable and bean consumption at breakfast time, with the first year focused on weekend family breakfasts; supported by Good Food and a collection of family breakfast recipes.
- Growing to Love Classroom programme where children grow their own tomatoes from seed, including complete growing kits (seeds, compost, feed, greenhouses, materials), teacher's guides and curriculum-supporting resources; £100 fully equips and supports a class.
- Love Your Lunchbox Resources for schools, nurseries, parents and carers to support healthier packed lunches, including videos from registered nutritionists and the Shaun the Sheep Lunch Box planner for children.
- Seasonal Veg Campaign led by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall with celebrity chef ambassadors to increase awareness and demand for seasonal, domestically-produced vegetables, including a seasonal veg guide, recipes and the #SeasonalVeg social media alliance.
- Simply Veg Direct-to-consumer resource hub for nutritionists, health professionals and families, providing articles, tips, videos and recipes to help families serve affordable, sustainable and healthy veg-packed meals.
Quantifiable outcome
- 86% of children ate more vegetables during Eat Them to Defeat Them 2026
- +7 more outcomes
Companies that use Veg Power
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Veg Power technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Veg Power partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
20 partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.
- Good FoodcoreGood Food joined the Breakfast in Colour campaign as media partner in 2026, creating recipes and providing media reach to millions of people in the UK. Cassie Best from Good Food created a collection of family breakfast recipes for the campaign.
- British Nutrition FoundationsupportingBNF partnered with Attack the Snack 2025 campaign, contributing expert nutrition advice and 1 million social media impressions to promote healthy snacking for children.
- British Berry GrowerssupportingBritish Berry Growers backed Attack the Snack 2025 campaign to show the power of collaboration in promoting fresh produce consumption among children.
- British Apples & PearssupportingBritish Apples & Pears partnered with Attack the Snack 2025 to promote fruit and vegetable snacks as healthy alternatives to processed snacks.
- NetmumssupportingNetmums, the UK's influential online parenting community, supported Attack the Snack 2025 by reaching millions of families with campaign content and expert advice.
- The Food FoundationcoreVeg Power partnered with The Food Foundation on the three-year Bang In Some Beans mission to put beans and pulses at the heart of the British diet. The beans project received £1.4m from The National Lottery Community Fund's Climate Action Fund. Both organizations collaborate on the Keen Bean pledge initiative.
- adam&eveDDBsupportingLead advertising agency for Eat Them to Defeat Them campaign. Worked with Veg Power and ITV on multi-award-winning campaign that won IPA Effectiveness Awards Gold and The President's Prize for Behavioural Change.
- Kent University Students' UnionsupportingKent University Students' Union is collaborating with The Food Foundation and Veg Power on the beans project to encourage people across the UK to eat sustainable food sources such as beans, lentils and pulses.
- Aardman AnimationcoreAardman Animation provides Shaun the Sheep creative assets for Veg Power campaigns including Eat Them to Defeat Them, Love Your Lunchbox, and Growing to Love. The partnership delivers child-friendly, engaging content featuring beloved animated characters. Shaun the Sheep and Shaun's image are trade marks of Aardman Animations Limited.
- ITVcoreITV has been Veg Power's primary media partner since 2018, providing over £20 million in donated advertising value for campaigns including Eat Them to Defeat Them. The partnership combines TV advertising with the school programme, backed by celebrity support. ITV won the Third Sector Awards 2022 Corporate Partnership of the Year for this work.
- Hugh Fearnley-WhittingstallcoreChef, food writer and campaigner Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall serves as special adviser and leads the #SeasonalVeg alliance. He champions seasonal eating, sustainable food and better food systems, helping families understand where food comes from.
- Sainsbury'scoreMajor UK grocery retailer and founding member of Veg Power alliance. Judith Batchelor, Director of Sainsbury's Brand, has provided public support stating the initiative is good for the health of the nation and good for growers. Nilani Sritharan leads healthy and sustainable diets team supporting Veg Power initiatives.
- TescocoreMajor UK grocery retailer and Veg Power member. Tesco works with Veg Power on campaigns including Eat Them to Defeat Them and supports through corporate membership.
- Co-opcoreUK supermarket chain and Veg Power member supporting campaigns through corporate sponsorship and membership fees.
- WaitrosecoreUK supermarket chain and Veg Power member supporting the alliance through corporate membership.
- TildasupportingFood brand and corporate partner working with Veg Power to align charitable and business goals.
- Jamie OlivercoreCelebrity chef Jamie Oliver has publicly supported Veg Power, stating 'Anything that empowers kids to eat more veg is a win in my book - Veg Power deserves the support of the whole food system working together.' Louise Holland serves as his Deputy.
- Sir John HegartysupportingGlobal advertising legend and patron of Veg Power. Founded Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH) in 1982. Awarded Knighthood by the Queen in 2007. Provides strategic counsel to the alliance.
- Baroness Rosie BoycottsupportingMember of House of Lords and patron of Veg Power. Led development of London Food Strategy for Mayor Sadiq Khan. Long career in journalism, publishing and food policy.
- Anna Taylor OBEcoreExecutive Director of The Food Foundation and founding member of Veg Power Board. Awarded OBE in 2014 for work addressing global undernutrition. Served as Chief Independent Adviser to Henry Dimbleby for National Food Strategy.
Scale indicators11 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Veg Power competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Action for Children: Major UK children's charity working on welfare, wellbeing, and education including child nutrition programmes. Comparable as a large-scale UK children's services nonprofit, though broader in scope than Veg Power's nutrition focus.
- Children in Need (BBC): BBC's flagship charity appeal funding projects supporting disadvantaged children in the UK, including food poverty and nutrition programmes. Comparable as a UK-wide, media-amplified children's charity fundraising and grantmaking entity.
- Change4Life (Public Health England): Government-backed public health social marketing campaign targeting families with children on healthy eating and activity. Comparable as a large-scale UK behaviour-change campaign for children's diet, but operates as part of broader government public health rather than an independent nonprofit.
Direct peers
- Magic Breakfast: UK charity providing healthy breakfasts to school children and campaigning on child nutrition and food poverty. Comparable as a UK school-based child nutrition charity with corporate partnerships and government funding.
- British Nutrition Foundation: UK charity providing evidence-based nutrition information, education resources, and campaigns. Active Veg Power partner on Attack the Snack 2025. Comparable as a UK nutrition education charity providing school resources and food behaviour-change content.
- Children's Food Trust: UK charity dedicated to improving children's food through school-based interventions, cooking education, and food standards advocacy. Highly comparable mission around school food culture and child nutrition education in the UK.
- The Food Foundation: UK food policy charity and active Veg Power partner on the Bang In Some Beans mission. Both organizations address child nutrition, dietary behaviour change, and sustainable food systems in the UK, operating through research, policy advocacy, and campaigns.
- Bite Back 2030: Youth-led campaign movement founded by Jamie Oliver focused on improving children's food and tackling youth obesity. Comparable as a UK-based, youth-focused food advocacy organization with celebrity leadership and media-driven campaigns.
- School Food Matters: UK charity focused on improving school food and food education for children. Directly comparable mission around school-based food culture change, working with caterers, local authorities, and government to drive dietary improvements among UK schoolchildren.
- Soil Association Food for Life: UK programme that works with schools, caterers, and communities to improve food quality and food education. Highly comparable as a school-based food behaviour-change programme with accreditation schemes serving thousands of UK schools.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Veg Power social profiles
Digital presenceVeg Power financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Veg Power leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
Veg Power funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Veg Power M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Veg Power
What does Veg Power do?
Veg Power is a not-for-profit alliance that designs, delivers and promotes school-based food education campaigns (e.g. Eat Them to Defeat Them, Growing to Love, Attack the Snack, Bang In Some Beans, Breakfast in Colour, Love Your Lunchbox, Seasonal Veg) to increase children's consumption of vegetables, fruit and beans. The alliance is funded by horticulture-sector membership fees, corporate sponsorships (Sainsbury's, Tesco, Co-op, Waitrose, ITV, Tilda, etc.) and grants (National Lottery Community Fund), and distributes free curriculum-aligned resources, lesson plans, growing kits, media advertising and celebrity-led campaigns to over 5,000 UK primary and special schools, 200+ local authorities and 100+ catering companies.
Is Veg Power a public or private company?
Veg Power is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Veg Power founded?
Veg Power was founded in 2018. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Veg Power based?
Veg Power is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Veg Power make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Horticulture Sector Membership is the primary driver. The others are corporate Sponsorships, national Lottery Community Fund Grant and local Authority Funding.
Who are Veg Power's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Action for Children, Children in Need (BBC) and Change4Life (Public Health England). Direct peers are Magic Breakfast, British Nutrition Foundation, Children's Food Trust, The Food Foundation, Bite Back 2030, School Food Matters and Soil Association Food for Life.
Does Veg Power have an API?
No public API is recorded for Veg Power.
What industry is Veg Power in?
Veg Power's product category is Children Nutrition Education. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPADAJAD, School Feeding & Child Nutrition Programs, with a secondary code of BPAGADAB, K–12 Support & School Improvement Nonprofits. Its NAICS code is 611110 and its SIC code is 8300.