New brand partnerships bolster Shaun the Sheep 'One Farm' initiative

Aardman is delighted to announce two major new partnerships with nationwide not-for-profit alliance Veg Power and Willsow plantable books as part of its new ‘Shaun the Sheep: One Farm’ initiative.

‘Shaun the Sheep: One Farm’ utilises Shaun’s authentic link to the great outdoors, sustainable living and food to encourage participation in activities that will enhance and sustain our own world and lives. Shaun’s Flock family love their farm and are keen to work together with EWE to look after it, so it can look after EWE!

Rachael Peacock, Senior Brand Manager, Aardman said: “Shaun has starred in over 170 episodes, two half hour specials and two feature films.... and even flown around the moon on the Artemis 1 space mission... But closer to home, we are delighted that Shaun has become a champion for change and a sustainability ambaaa-ssador for our planet. Environment and Sustainability is a real focus for Aardman and we have recently published our commitment to become a more sustainable studio.

We are really excited to extend our One Farm programme with Willsow and Veg Power to raise awareness around the importance of naturally grown produce and eating a healthy diet. We have One Farm, let’s flock together to look after it!”

Willsow will be launching a Plantable Children’s Book with a Shaun the Sheep story adapted from the much loved ‘Baa-garita’ episode from Series 6. The product will be available accross a variety of retail outlets including garden centres, gift shops, book stores and independents from Monday 9th October. The book will join Willsow’s existing product range and will be the company’s first venture into character licensing.

Willsow Founder, Tom Willday says of the Partnership: “Our aim, at Willsow, is to demonstrate the benefits of children spending more time outside understanding the importance of sustainability in a fun and engaging way. For Willsow, it hasn’t just been about creating a book but creating a moment for children to enjoy with parents, grandparents and friends alike in the outdoors. Unfortunately, our books don’t grow Shaun! However, once planted the books grow wildflowers which not only look great but are a great source of food for sheep! With Willsow, nothing is corporate or serious so it felt like a no-brainer and a real privellage to work with Shaun who as a character reflects this. Now colloborating with Aardman, the end of Shaun’s stories are just the beginning”

The new ‘Shaun the Sheep Eat the Rainbow’ partnership with Veg Power, which launched with a pilot scheme in Lambeth, London at the end of September is a programme dedicated to inspiring kids and their families to eat more vegetables through the use of fun and engaging resources. This will be delivered through an integrated primary school and families programme which will encourage children to eat a greater volume and variety of vegetables by adding one new vegetable at a time starting with peppers,  until they have a rainbow of different vegetables in their diet.

Commenting on the collaboration, Dan Parker, Chief Executive, Veg Power, said, “Our mission is to get the UK’s kids eating more veg as current consumption levels are far too low, putting the health of our nation at risk. We’re very excited to have the excellent creative talent within Aardman supporting our work over the next couple of years. We’re confident that this collaboration will help us reach even more children and their families through the creation of outstanding and engaging resources that will encourage even the most reluctant veg eaters to give them a try”.

The ‘Shaun the Sheep One Farm’ initiative which represents issues around the environment and sustainability in a fun and engaging way for families, launched earlier this year.  Successful partnerships to date include Natural England’s Countryside Code and The National Forest with further brand collaborations to be announced later in the year.