Tesco is launching an advertising and in-store push to bolster its credentials in the fiercely-fought fresh food category. Here, UK boss Chris Bush explains the rationale and importance of the initiaitive.

Tesco is a grocer. We are all about food. It’s what we think about, talk about, obsess about. On Monday we are launching our food campaign, Love Every Mouthful, marking a new way of talking about food with our customers.

So much care goes into the food we produce, from our thousands of experts around the business to our fantastic suppliers. Every day, I see the thought and effort that goes on behind the scenes to source and deliver the best for our customers.

We sell more food than anyone else in the UK and our passion for it has always been part of our DNA but we have probably not talked about it enough. It’s more important than ever that our customers know where their food comes from and about the dedication and energy that goes into the growing, tasting, picking and packing.

So Love Every Mouthful is about passion for food whether you produce it, sell it, cook it or eat it, from the simple everyday pleasures to the adventurous treats.

It’s our way of celebrating food in all its glory. We all lead busy lives and it’s easy to lose touch with what food is really about. It’s not just a fuel. It’s a daily pleasure, something to savour and to share. We’re encouraging the nation to relish every mouthful and every mealtime. We’re celebrating our national obsession with food and focusing on fresh, British, seasonal produce.

We began working on Love Every Mouthful last year. Our Finest beef steaks and joints are now matured for 28 days, we test over 20 varieties of strawberry every week to ensure only the sweetest end up on our shelves and all our strawberries, peaches and nectarines are now hand-picked and chilled within an hour of picking to keep them fresh – this is just a flavour of some of the things we’ve been doing. Of course at the heart of this work are our suppliers. We have been working hard to build better relationships with our farmers, lengthening contracts and bringing food closer to home.

As a business which dedicates itself to food, I haven’t seen as much excitement around our stores as I have with our preparations for Love Every Mouthful. That may be because it’s more than a campaign, it’s a chance for all of us to talk about the products and recipes we love, how we feel about food and the families and friends we share it with, about our traditions and celebrations, seasons and discoveries.

Our colleagues across the UK have been sharing their favourite meals and what they grow in their gardens – some of them are featured in our advertising campaign, along with our suppliers. Recipe cards featuring their favourite recipes will be in our stores.

At the front of many of those stores, you will see fresh produce and bakery and a focus on seasonal British food which our customers will be encouraged to taste.  If they have any questions, our colleagues will be on hand to help.  On social media and on our Real Food website, from Monday, we’ll be sharing with customers how we get their food from farm to fork and celebrating the best food from across Britain, as well as ideas and recipes to get people cooking. There’ll be cook-along videos and films with our suppliers to show where products come from. You can join the conversation online on our Facebook page or tweet using the hashtag #LoveEveryMouthful.

Some of the people who have worked on the campaign, created with W+K, have explained it in their own words in this behind-the-scenes film. I hope you enjoy it.

is a grocer. We are all about food. It’s what we think about, talk about, obsess about. On Monday we are launching our food campaign, Love Every Mouthful, marking a new way of talking about food with our customers.

So much care goes into the food we produce, from our thousands of experts around the business to our fantastic suppliers. Every day, I see the thought and effort that goes on behind the scenes to source and deliver the best for our customers.

We sell more food than anyone else in the UK and our passion for it has always been part of our DNA but we have probably not talked about it enough. It’s more important than ever that our customers know where their food comes from and about the dedication and energy that goes into the growing, tasting, picking and packing.

So Love Every Mouthful is about passion for food whether you produce it, sell it, cook it or eat it, from the simple everyday pleasures to the adventurous treats.

It’s our way of celebrating food in all its glory. We all lead busy lives and it’s easy to lose touch with what food is really about. It’s not just a fuel. It’s a daily pleasure, something to savour and to share. We’re encouraging the nation to relish every mouthful and every mealtime. We’re celebrating our national obsession with food and focusing on fresh, British, seasonal produce.

We began working on Love Every Mouthful last year. Our Finest beef steaks and joints are now matured for 28 days, we test over 20 varieties of strawberry every week to ensure only the sweetest end up on our shelves and all our strawberries, peaches and nectarines are now hand-picked and chilled within an hour of picking to keep them fresh – this is just a flavour of some of the things we’ve been doing. Of course at the heart of this work are our suppliers. We have been working hard to build better relationships with our farmers, lengthening contracts and bringing food closer to home.

As a business which dedicates itself to food, I haven’t seen as much excitement around our stores as I have with our preparations for Love Every Mouthful. That may be because it’s more than a campaign, it’s a chance for all of us to talk about the products and recipes we love, how we feel about food and the families and friends we share it with, about our traditions and celebrations, seasons and discoveries.

Our colleagues across the UK have been sharing their favourite meals and what they grow in their gardens – some of them are featured in our advertising campaign, along with our suppliers. Recipe cards featuring their favourite recipes will be in our stores.

At the front of many of those stores, you will see fresh produce and bakery and a focus on seasonal British food which our customers will be encouraged to taste.  If they have any questions, our colleagues will be on hand to help.  On social media and on our Real Food website, from Monday, we’ll be sharing with customers how we get their food from farm to fork and celebrating the best food from across Britain, as well as ideas and recipes to get people cooking. There’ll be cook-along videos and films with our suppliers to show where products come from. You can join the conversation online on our Facebook page or tweet using the hashtag #LoveEveryMouthful.

Some of the people who have worked on the campaign, created with W+K, have explained it in their own words in this behind-the-scenes film. I hope you enjoy it.

Tesco is a grocer. We are all about food. It’s what we think about, talk about, obsess about. On Monday we are launching our food campaign, Love Every Mouthful, marking a new way of talking about food with our customers.

So much care goes into the food we produce, from our thousands of experts around the business to our fantastic suppliers. Every day, I see the thought and effort that goes on behind the scenes to source and deliver the best for our customers.

We sell more food than anyone else in the UK and our passion for it has always been part of our DNA but we have probably not talked about it enough. It’s more important than ever that our customers know where their food comes from and about the dedication and energy that goes into the growing, tasting, picking and packing.

So Love Every Mouthful is about passion for food whether you produce it, sell it, cook it or eat it, from the simple everyday pleasures to the adventurous treats.

It’s our way of celebrating food in all its glory. We all lead busy lives and it’s easy to lose touch with what food is really about. It’s not just a fuel. It’s a daily pleasure, something to savour and to share. We’re encouraging the nation to relish every mouthful and every mealtime. We’re celebrating our national obsession with food and focusing on fresh, British, seasonal produce.

We began working on Love Every Mouthful last year. Our Finest beef steaks and joints are now matured for 28 days, we test over 20 varieties of strawberry every week to ensure only the sweetest end up on our shelves and all our strawberries, peaches and nectarines are now hand-picked and chilled within an hour of picking to keep them fresh – this is just a flavour of some of the things we’ve been doing. Of course at the heart of this work are our suppliers. We have been working hard to build better relationships with our farmers, lengthening contracts and bringing food closer to home.

As a business which dedicates itself to food, I haven’t seen as much excitement around our stores as I have with our preparations for Love Every Mouthful. That may be because it’s more than a campaign, it’s a chance for all of us to talk about the products and recipes we love, how we feel about food and the families and friends we share it with, about our traditions and celebrations, seasons and discoveries.

Our colleagues across the UK have been sharing their favourite meals and what they grow in their gardens – some of them are featured in our advertising campaign, along with our suppliers. Recipe cards featuring their favourite recipes will be in our stores.

At the front of many of those stores, you will see fresh produce and bakery and a focus on seasonal British food which our customers will be encouraged to taste.  If they have any questions, our colleagues will be on hand to help.  On social media and on our Real Food website, from Monday, we’ll be sharing with customers how we get their food from farm to fork and celebrating the best food from across Britain, as well as ideas and recipes to get people cooking. There’ll be cook-along videos and films with our suppliers to show where products come from. You can join the conversation online on our Facebook page or tweet using the hashtag #LoveEveryMouthful.

Some of the people who have worked on the campaign, created with W+K, have explained it in their own words in this behind-the-scenes film. I hope you enjoy it.

The making of Tesco's Love Every Mouthful campaign