Heinz launches tomato and soil awareness campaign in Fortnite

Heinz is making its latest power play in Fortnite, hoping to shine a spotlight on a literal root problem – the world’s declining soil health.

To raise awareness and educate players on the critical importance of healthy soil in our global food systems, Heinz is partnering with gaming-focused agency Druid Gaming to launch its latest campaign, dubbed “SOS tomatoes”. 

Produced by creative agency GUT São Paulo, the campaign will launch a 360-degree marketing plan, using earned, paid and owned channels. It will also include a teaser phase, where some of the most-followed Twitch creators will unlock a play preview ahead of the consumer launch date.

It’s estimated that 95% of the world’s food is either directly or indirectly produced in soils. However, environmental experts are warning that the current state of our world’s soils are at risk and could be gone in as little as a generation if action isn’t taken.

A rapidly shrinking safe zone – the core mechanic of the game that forces competing players into a diminishing area of the game map – will be featured within the Fortnite island in the game, conveying the rapid rate in which soil health is declining. Players will also be tasked to outrun an in-game storm, which will be 33% faster than in Fortnite Battle Royale and Zero Build.

An in-game map within the island will also attempt to recreate Heinz's tomato farming processes, demonstrating the brand's attempts at sustainable and regenerative practices. Players can start their journey inside greenhouses where infant tomato plants are first raised, before they are transplanted into fields and turned into mature tomato plants. 

With Heinz pledging to protect an extra 13.5 million square-metres of soil, the brand also hopes that the player experience will thereby make a positive impact on the real world.

Cristina Kenz, chief growth and sustainability officer for Heinz, said: “Through this commitment, we are building better soils that will not only feed our unique tomatoes but have the potential to help store carbon – an important pillar in our roadmap to aim to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.”

She added: "We can all play a part, quite literally, to protect our soil and the delicious food that grows from it. It’s a battle worth fighting for.”