SPAR, South Africa’s community-first retailer, is ushering in Valentine’s Day with a fresh perspective on love and a new campaign that promotes the purchase of fresh produce – SPAR’s “Think Fresh, Find Love”.

The campaign is based on a study that showed that individuals who include healthy meals in their dating app profiles, like Tinder, are more likely to get a ‘right swipe’.

Conducted by the University of Surrey, the study, which assessed the dating profiles of over 3.7 million users, found that people who include photos of themselves eating healthy meals are perceived as being more attractive and desirable.

The study further established that those who highlight healthy eating habits, specifically naming healthy meals as favourites in their profiles, not only attract more attention but are also more likely to receive positive responses and messages from potential partners.

Based on the findings, guacamole was the number one most attractive food, increasing the probability of receiving messages by 144%. Following closely, potatoes claimed the second spot and chocolate ranked third.

Salad secured the fourth position, with researchers revealing that mentioning salad in profiles led to a notable 97% increase in the likelihood of being matched on dating apps.

“And this is where SPAR comes in,” says Tony Mun-Gavin, National Marketing Executive at The SPAR Group ."As a community-centric brand, we advocate for healthy eating, nutritious meals and taking care of your body for overall well-being. This Valentine’s Day we wanted to do things a bit differently and have some fun while encouraging our shoppers to make health-conscious food choices.”

The "Think Fresh, Find Love" campaign includes in-store signage, a website and social media competition. Consumers are encouraged to visit spar.co.za or follow @My_SPAR on social media to enter the #SPARFreshLove competition to stand a chance to win SPAR Freshline prizes.

SPAR Freshline offers shoppers a range of fresh, nutritious product lines - from fruit and vegetable produce to pre-packaged and ready meals - to enable healthy, wholesome eating.

“If you’re looking for love in 2024, head to your local SPAR and stock up on Freshline produce. Who knows, if nothing else, you may find your soul mate in our produce isles – and just in time for Valentine’s Day,” says Mun-Gavin.

The full list of attractive foods identified in the study can be found here.