The National Grocers' Benevolent Fund (NGBF) was formed in 1969. Its constitution and aims have remained largely the same since this time. Over the years, the NGBF has always been a very successfully run welfare fund, supported by the leaders of the industry and well administered. But as the NGBF, we had become increasingly concerned with two key issues – namely, our ability to sustain and improve our success in raising funds and our ability to identify and contact all those who would most benefit from our support.
We knew that we needed to raise our profile and communicate our role to a wider group of people in order to secure commitment. In particular, our stakeholders had identified the charity’s need to attract support and help from younger members of the industry as a matter of priority. Part of the problem was that it had become obvious over the past few years that the NGBF “brand” was seen by many as old fashioned and that we were failing to establish our relevance to the industry we were trying to support.
The second issue was about how the money raised would be best used. The NGBF’s constituency was the total food and grocery industry, one of the
UK
’s biggest individual sources of employment. Based on the size of this market we knew that there were many thousands of pensioners out there who might benefit from our support but who didn’t know about the charity. To tackle these issues a development process was initiated that began with a human resources forum, in which we consulted with senior HR people in the industry. The development work was carried out by the NGBF as an internal project, with wide consultation at each stage with the NGBF’s stakeholders. As a result, the new Caravan identity was born. By dictionary definition Caravan is “a group of traders journeying together” and the new brand name symbolises unity, inclusivity and mutual support. It makes a clear statement about the organisation’s commitment to change and performing what it says. It is evolutionary, and contemporises and invests meaning in the NGBF camel, a previously unexplained brand icon and a hidden asset.
Welfare provision remains Caravan’s primary concern and we will continue to provide support to our beneficiaries who are currently suffering hardship. We also aim to continue to build awareness within the industry and the charity world, of the work that we do.
Why the Camel?
The camel is now well known as the logo for Caravan. It has been associated with the food trade since the middle ages when it was first adopted as a symbol of the Company of Pepperers and Spicers in the thirteenth century. The laden camel symbolised spices being brought by camel train from the East for shipment to the countries of Western Europe.
When the Worshipful Company of Grocers was formed, they incorporated the Company of Pepperers and Spicers and adopted the camel as the surmounter of their arms. Folllowing an agreement with the Worshipful Company, the Caravan camel will always point in the opposite direction.
Over the years, the camel has been stylised and gradually changed. The 'new style' camel is a true copy of the original surmounter. If you look closely you will see that it is laden, and is a two-humped or bactrian camel originating in the East, as opposed to the one-humped or dromedary originating in Arabia.
