Misshapen produce7/12/2023 The idea of selling fruit and vegetables with odd shapes or skin defects (yet still with the same quality and taste as their picture-perfect counterparts) has also been picked up in Canada. Asda’s produce technical director, Ian Harrison, wrote in a blog post in February that the campaign also supports farmers and offers customers additional value for their money. More recently, Walmart’s British subsidiary, Asda, started a campaign to sell “wonky” fruit and vegetables at a discounted price to help reduce food waste. It also saw a 24% increase in store traffic. (It also priced the disfigured produce 30% cheaper.) The strategy worked: Intermarché sold an average of 1.2 tonnes of the disfigured produce per store during the first two days of the campaign. Last year, Intermarché launched a marketing campaign called “Inglorious Fruits & Vegetables.” The aim was to combat food waste by changing the way shoppers look at imperfect fruit and veggies. The most famous example of selling “ugly” fruit (the one that likely popped up in your Facebook feed this past summer) comes from the French supermarket Intermarché. So too has another simple idea gaining momentum: selling misshapen produce instead of throwing it out. But they’ve had meaningful and positive effects. Putting doors on coolers to reduce in-store energy costs, and extending hours to better serve customers, are no-brainers. The grocery industry also has its share of clever, simple ideas. But the company made about $150 million in revenue last year, and 1-800-Got-Junk has spawned many imitators. Is picking up and disposing of people’s trash a complex idea? Not even close. Take 1-800-Got-Junk, the brainchild of Vancouver native Brian Scudamore. Simple service ideas have become huge hits. Throw an infomercial and countless online parodies into the mix and voilà–more than 30 million Snuggies have been sold since 2008. Ever worn a Snuggie? (I won’t judge I have a blue one with a cloud motif.) The idea to add sleeves to a fleece blanket could not be more straightforward. And it doesn’t hurt that, quite often, they are also the most profitable, too. Sometimes the simplest ideas are the most brilliant. In my "Taking Stock" column in the March/April issue of Canadian Grocer (out this week), I wrote about other retailers (and a grower/shipper) that have launched programs that celebrate the goodness of "ugly" produce. Loblaw isn't the first company to make misshapen produce available to consumers. It's being sold at a discount of up to 30 per cent compared to "traditional produce options found in store," according to Loblaw. The line is now available at Real Canadian Superstore and some No Frill locations in Ontario, as well as some Maxi stores in Quebec. A new Loblaw line that puts disfigured produce on a pedestal has been getting a lot of buzz since its launch last week.Īppropriately named "No Name Naturally Imperfect," the line of fruits and vegetables is just as nutritious and tasty as its perfect counterparts, it's just smaller and may have an unusual shape.
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