Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder
When Tamar showed our Sustainability Marketing class the video about the “ugly” fruits and vegetables, I was instantly amazed at the execution of the campaign.
Ugly, but cute.
The “Inglorious Fruits and Vegetables” campaign set out by Intermarché aims to fight against food waste. These imperfect fruits and vegetables were sold 30% cheaper and were completely glorified. They were given their very own aisle, each produce had its own name, and there were even product extensions, such as soups and juices, to allow consumers to realize they were just as good (or even better!) than what is accepted in the social norm.
Soups made from ugly carrots.
Intermarché’s campaign is a win-win because consumers are not only able to get the same quality for cheaper, but the growers also gain more for these products that otherwise would have been thrown away! Moreover, their campaign reached over 21 million people after one month and there was an increase of 24% overall in store traffic. An increase in foot traffic means the probability that consumers will not only buy these hideously adorable produce but also other merchandise at the grocery store. So, this initiative could also be considered as a win-win-WIN campaign as it benefits the store itself!
This idea of ugly can be just as good reminds me that sustainability has to be great before being green. As said in class, society used to be quite wary of green products because of its constant failure to actual live up to its primary use. With green and sustainable lifestyles becoming more and more accepted, companies are now “greenwashing” in order to get consumers to buy their products. What Intermarché’ does is focus on something simple and successfully communicate the value and benefits of ugly produce.
References:
Earley, K. (March 19, 2015). How businesses can engage consumers in their sustainability stories. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2015/mar/19/how-businesses-can-engage-consumers-in-their-sustainability-stories
Intermarché. (n.d.) Inglorious Fruits & Vegetables. Intermarché. Retrieved April 9, 2015 from http://itm.marcelww.com/inglorious/
Hey Katie,
Thanks for your post, i was also really surprised how brilliant they are when watching this video. As you mentioned, this campaign benefits suppliers, retailers and consumers, i think one of the reasons is that Intermarché has done a really great job on communicating with their customers. For example, inglorious fruits have their own aisle to 「generate more awareness」, Intermarché also launch juices made from inglorious fruits to let customers to try the taste of them, 「persuading them to change their behaviour.」
But i am also wondering whether will it work in other countries such as UK and the States, and will they increase the price of those inglorious products after customers already consider they are the same as normal fruits. What do you think?
Thanks
Paul
Hi Paul,
Thank you for reading my post! I believe Intermarché has actually created more buzz for other European grocers and they are looking into expanding to “ugly” produce as well, such as Portugal and the UK. In one of my marketing courses, I learned that Loblaws is doing a very similar campaign called “Naturally Imperfect” in Ontario and Quebec stores and the response was positive! Since Canada and USA are similar, I think it will definitely work in the States – I mean who wouldn’t want the same quality for cheaper price, eh? Of course, it’s important to note that the marketing done for Intermarche was really well executed and was also what stemmed their success.
Here’s a couple articles about more grocers looking into ugly produce!
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/12/09/369613561/in-europe-ugly-sells-in-the-produce-aisle
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/loblaws-sells-discounted-ugly-produce-in-ontario-quebec-stores-1.2995926
Cheers!
Katie