Published on: Oct 02, 2023
In order to combat fruit and vegetable waste, Dutch-owned retailer Makro and Grey Columbia, came up with an innovative new strategy: stickers.
The stickers were applied directly to the fruit and vegetables and gave a quick overview of the degree of ripeness of each item depending on its colour. Each colour band also gave a quick suggestion of how the produce could be served, depending on the degree of ripeness.
For example, the banana sticker would show the colours green, yellow, brown and black with serving suggestions; fried, ice-cream, tempura and cupcake, respectively.
Forecasts show that the campaign will extend the shelf life of fruit and vegetable by around six days, meaning 70 tonnes less food waste per week from stores and homes.
The campaign won Gold in the Outdoor category at the Cannes Lions Festival 2023.