- The traditional British caff style pop-up, created in partnership with Pringles and Movember, will help guests reach out if they think someone is struggling
- Café launched as new research reveals almost half (47%) of British men find it hard to ask a friend or loved one if they’re OK
- Almost one in five British men say they aren’t confident they could spot the signs of a friend or loved one struggling with their mental health
- Nearly one in five men admit they’ve NEVER had a conversation about mental health
Today Pringles and global men’s health charity Movember open the doors to the Scan & Scran Café, a traditional British caff pop-up designed to help the nation have tricky conversations about mental health and wellbeing. The café launches as new research from Pringles shows that almost half of British men (47%) don’t know how to ask someone if they’re okay and 71% admit they could be better informed on how to talk to someone struggling with their mental health.
The pop-up, which runs from the 2nd to 3rd of October at 73 Aldgate High Street, was opened this morning by football pundit and mental health advocate Jimmy Bullard. Bullard will be serving café scran and chatting to men and women alike about how they can check in on their mates and loved ones.
Visitors to the café will be shown how they can scan the QR code in Mr P’s iconic moustache on select Pringles tubes to access the Movember Conversations tool. The tool provides advice and guidance on how best to check in with your mates if you think they need support. Guests will also be given the opportunity to learn more about the Movember-approved ALEC method for talking to friends about their problems; Ask, Listen, Encourage action, and Check in.
The café has launched as research also reveals 72% of men believe the hardest part of mental health is talking about it with others – something that has resulted in almost one in five (18%) admitting they have never spoken to anyone about their mental health. In comparison, only 7% of women said the same.
Despite 53% of men believing that having conversations about how they’re feeling would help improve their mental wellbeing, and almost half (49%) admitting they have struggled with negative thoughts, 22% say they simply don’t know how to start the conversation. Meanwhile, 21% say they wish they found it easier to talk about how they were feeling.
Nearly four in ten (39%) men still believe there is a stigma around men and mental health, with only a third (31%) believing that modern men are more comfortable talking about their feelings than previous generations, and less than a quarter (23%) believing that the “British stiff upper lip” attitude is dying out. 16% also admit they don’t know where to go to get advice on how to talk about their own and others’ mental health.
When it comes to talking to a friend or loved one about mental health, conversation starters (52%) and tips from professionals / experts on how to check in (34%) are all things that men believe would help. Research also shows the benefits of talking about how you feel, with half (50%) of men reporting feeling relieved after opening up, a third (31%) saying they felt less alone and nearly a quarter (24%) feeling happier.
The Scan & Scran Café will be serving up classic British dishes, from sausage baps to egg mayo sandwiches. The pop-up will operate a ‘pay with a post’ system, with visitors asked to post on their socials about the experience to spread awareness in lieu of payment.
Bullard, who worked as a tradesman before he took to the pitch, is especially keen to welcome down construction workers to the café, a group who are at particularly high risk of experiencing the consequences of mental health issues, with a third reporting elevated anxiety issues every day,
Jimmy Bullard said: “When I worked on site, no topic was off limits. So why is the conversation around where our heads are at such a taboo? Most likely because a lot of us don’t know how to start the conversation! That’s why I’m proud to be working with Pringles and Movember to guide the nation on how to get talking. And where better than in the comfort of a British institution, the high street caff?”
Seanáin Mcguigan, Pringles Brand Manager for UK&I, says: “We are excited to partner with Movember and open the doors to our Scan & Scran Café. With our research showing how difficult it is to start conversations around mental wellbeing, we hope to welcome as many visitors as possible, to showcase the power of connection and encourage people to check out Movember’s Conversations tool by giving our beloved Mr P a scan.”
Anne-Cecile Berthier, Country Director UK and Europe at Movember, said: “Our partnership with Pringles is about finding ways to help us feel more connected. Speaking about mental health and checking in with your mates are some of the most important things we can do. Starting a conversation about mental health can be daunting, so together we are finding new ways to encourage opening up to lighten the load.”
Pringles and Movember have teamed up each year since 2020 to show the power of connecting with friends, by encouraging people to get together, share and talk when they need help. To date, the partnership has raised over £1 million in Europe. This money has gone towards funding Movember’s vital mental health work, including the innovative Movember Conversations programme and Spot the Signs.
For more information on the campaign, head to https://www.pringles.com/uk/brand/esg.html
To find out more about Movember, and how to start those tricky conversations with a mate or loved one, head to https://uk.movember.com/.