The Kidchens

For a decade Arla has researched the importance of kids connecting with food through cooking. The insight: Food
skills build life skills. Boosting kids’ social well-being and enabling healthier, more sustainable food choices later in
life.

The problem is, despite its Michelin restaurants, Denmark is experiencing a generational food skills decline: Takeaway consumption has doubled in four years and 33% of families spend less than 15 minutes a day cooking dinner. The consequence? 40% of kids can’t boil an egg. Even more concerning, 53% of Danes are overweight.

Arla's strategy was to tackle a key physical barrier: The lack of school kitchens.

Although Danish schools are legally required to teach cooking, 50% of home economics teachers report inadequate
or non-existent facilities.

Accenture Song and Arla identified the perfect, underutilized resource to fill the gap: Restaurant kitchens across Denmark sitting empty during morning hours.

Kidchens was born from a partnership between Arla and Madklubben, Denmark's largest restaurant chain, with food
specialists from the Arla Foundation, professional chefs, and school teachers building the curriculum side by side.

The idea was seeded in two large Facebook groups for home economics teachers, generating early demand from the ground up. The booking platform launched on arla.dk. Restaurants posted available morning slots. Schools claimed a slot in their area.

Ten classes piloted in June 2025. The model worked. Kidchens scaled to 100 classes across Denmark through the second half of 2025 and into early 2026, with further expansion planned for 2027.

The launch was supported by out-of-home advertising, large-format banners, a two-minute explainer video on YouTube, and content across social channels. The initiative generated significant earned media coverage across Danish press including the two main national TV channels, DR and TV2.

The result? 3,000 children. 100 classes. A documented 20% uplift in food skills, verified by the Arla Foundation and the
Technical University of Denmark. 40% of participating kids reported feeling more curious about new ingredients and
flavours (Arla post-survey).