Birds Eye has announced it will increase advertising for vegetables by 42% to encourage more children to eat their greens.

The £4.8m investment, running from now until December 2019, will include the launch of nine new products in Bird Eye’s vegetable range including pulse and veg mixes.

New Birds Eye TV adverts will also be shown during children’s programming as well as during peak family viewing. The campaign will be supported by nutritional messaging on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Buzzfeed.

The new activity coincides with Birds Eye’s decision to join the Peas Please initiative, which aims to increase vegetable consumption and improve the health of families across the UK. More than 40 organisations and government departments have already signed up to the scheme.

Pete Johnson, general marketing manager at Birds Eye said: “Making these pledges to the Peas Please campaign comes with a new financial commitment for 2018, but it is not a major change in strategy for the Birds Eye brand - Peas are very close to our heart!

”When Clarence Birdseye first found a way to flash-freeze veg and fish to preserve freshness and nutrients, millions of families were given access to better meals. Strong, emotional advertising on TV and online video is our 21st century effort to make sure veg finds its way onto more dinner plates.”

Anna Taylor, Food Foundation executive director, added: “This is an extremely important commitment from Birds Eye and provides a signal that junk food could be replaced with healthy food in key advertising slots.”