Holland and Barrett Buddies Part 1 – An Introduction To The Campaign and My Chosen Buddy

A few weeks ago, an email popped into my inbox from one of Holland and Barrett’s PR representatives with details of their latest campaign for fitness, health and beauty bloggers entitled Holland and Barrett Buddies, and much to my surprise they wanted me to be a part of it! Humbled and somewhat taken aback to learn that only a total of ten bloggers have been selected to partake in the campaign; I gratefully accepted and would like to take this opportunity to give you an introduction to the campaign and my chosen buddy…

Holland and Barrett Buddies Concept

The aim of this super cool campaign is for Holland and Barrett to pair the ten bloggers together based on shared goals, common interests and similar blog content. There are three parts to this campaign and each of them has been broken down below.

Part 1

Once paired, we are required to choose £100.00 worth of products for our buddy, highlighting the reasons behind the products we chose for our buddy and how we think they will be received.

Part 2

Once the products have been successfully sent to our preferred delivery address, part 2 will see each blogger to review the products our buddy had chosen for us, outlining if any of the items had helped us in any way in relation to current goals etc. This is in preparation for the last part of the campaign.

Part 3

Although full details have yet to be confirmed, we have been informed part 3 and the end of the campaign will be centred around an exclusive Holland and Barrett Buddy Event for the 10 bloggers who were fortunate to have been selected to participate.

My Chosen Buddy

In order to help Holland and Barrett determine which bloggers will make a perfect match, we were all asked to fill in a short online survey. The questions asked helped them gain a further insight into each bloggers particular interests, current goals, known allergies and any particular things or ingredients they wish to avoid.

I was eventually paired with the lovely Emma, who blogs over at Emsy Pickle. We were grouped as lifestyle bloggers as we both cover a variety of subjects and had similar interests in exercise, beauty and nutrition.

I was told Emma had to avoid caffeine, lanolin *found in most beauty and skincare products* and facial creams.

Keen to get our campaign underway I took to Twitter, followed her and requested her mobile number so we can converse without the restrictions of character limits or simply waiting a reply back from an email.

The Products I Chose for My Buddy Emma

Having spent a fair amount of time on Emma’s blog reading my way through her posts to determine which products will be most beneficial to her, I noticed that she is a keen baker and very much into her beauty products so had an idea in my head what items I will be choosing for her.

We talked an awful lot via text and were pleased to know that after browsing through my blog, she was inspired and keen to start making healthier eating options to what she currently consumes, in particular when snacking. This of course was music to my ears as it meant I could use my existing knowledge and expertise on healthy ‘swaps’ that she could easily adjust to without the change being too drastic or having to sacrifice on taste!

I ended up choosing a fair amount of alternative ingredients Emma can use for cooking and baking that will increase her fibre, protein and nutrient intake, reduce the amount of saturated fats consumed when following traditional baking recipes and eliminate refined sugar from her baking creations whilst still have a nice sweet taste to it by simply using natural sweeteners instead. This will lower the overall calories per serving and reduce potential health problems caused by consuming refined sugar and foods high in saturated fats.

I was also very keen to slowly incorporate superfoods into her diet. I’m not talking about Spirulina and Wheatgrass just yet for they are both intense flavours and people new to supplements could be put off if they are not used to consuming nutrient rich supplements so thought Emma would benefit from starting her ‘superfood journey’ with one of my all-time favourites, the humble but might Chia Seeds!

Such as their versatility I knew Emma would have a complete ball experimenting with new ways to add them into her baking and cooking dishes and I eagerly await her verdict as well any recipes she decided to make with them.

Now I don’t want to disclose everything I have chosen for Emma for it wouldn’t be a surprise so with that in mind I shall let you in on one other item I chose for her.

Emma confessed that crisps and chocolate is her vice when it comes to snacking and was on the lookout for healthier snack alternatives. Having previously reviewed this product myself a few months back, I would honestly recommend them to any individual to try for it leaves you feeling content, extremely satisfied and mind blown by the taste.

Without exaggerating, I am talking about Booja Booja Chocolate Truffles… Ladies and Gents if you have yet to indulge in tasting these divine little bundles of joy you are seriously missing out! Even up till now I cannot understand how something made with raw, dairy and sugar free ingredients tastes THAT good lol.

I’m almost certain Emma will enjoy tucking in and given their low calories, makes for ultimate guilt free treat.

Being the thoughtful type I also asked Emma if there was anything from Holland and Barrett she really wanted to try so I can add them as part of the final products to send her. After all, in order to make this campaign to be a success, the products chosen would have to reflect any goals and genuine areas of interest of my buddy.

Coming Up on Holland and Barrett Buddies Part 2

You’re now aware of the types of products I have chosen for Emma, so ensure you stay tuned to find out what products Emma had settled on choosing for me. Once in receipt of her handpicked items I shall write another post to evaluate whether the items were beneficial to me *soooo excited haha*

Emma is aware that I am a natural products advocate so has stayed clear of choosing food items that may contain refined sugar and GMO’s whilst attempting to choose beauty products that I have yet to review and most importantly fit my green / natural beauty ethos.

I would like to end this post by thanking Carl and the Holland and Barrett team for selecting me to be a part of this awesome Holland and Barrett Buddies Campaign.