Rice and beans has always been a staple dish in Brazil. As well as being delicious, this combo is perfectly balanced in terms of nutrition and it was traditionally enjoyed by Brazilians 5 to 7 times a week.

But an imbalance appeared in recent years, as bean consumption plummeted. In fact, a forecast indicates that this consumption will drop to between 1 and 4 times a week by 2025. The reason? Today’s busy lifestyles, where everyone works and there’s no time to cook. Consumers are opting for fast and easy instant meals with ultra-processed foods. As a result, the demand for beans decreased and growers began to plant other crops, such as soybeans and maize. In addition to more organized production chains, these commodities are exported to other countries, with far more stable demands and prices.

With an unbalanced production chain and ever higher prices, Camil, the leading brand for growing rice and beans in Brazil, saw the need for rebalance, investing more in growers and becoming more relevant to buyers. And so it implemented its 50/50 project.

To make consumers bring rice and beans back together again, Camil launched its 50/50 project: rebalancing the rice and bean production chain, from plantation to plate.

For growers, Camil developed the 50/50 Protocol: an agreement that ensures equal conditions for rice and bean growers, with guaranteed purchases of their harvests. In counterpart, it requires responsible production from them, free from both wastes and pesticides.

For consumers, Camil launched the 50/50 Pack, the pack that is restoring Brazil’s most traditional habit: eating rice and beans together. This is the first pack that presents both staples together, evenly balanced. As a result, consumers see the rice and beans together in the same proportions at points of sale, encouraging them to serve these staples together at mealtimes too.

The 50/50 Pack strategically united and divided Brazil, rebalancing the nation’s beans and rice consumption.

The first step was to unite them: inspired by the discussion over the 'right’ way to eat rice and beans, Camil brought these two staples together and created the 50/50 Pack. On one side, beans over rice. On the other, rice over beans.

The second step was to divide opinions: we launched this pack with the help of two influencers who eat rice and beans in different ways and had already taken a stance on this debate on social media. They encouraged their followers to take a stand as well, spurring extreme polarization.

And, finally, rebalance was achieved: while people were debating about which goes over and which goes under, they were unwittingly putting rice and beans together again on their plates.

The 50/50 Pack was launched with the help of two influencers who eat rice and beans in opposite ways. And consumers were quick to engage by commenting, posting and voting to decide on the ‘right’ way to eat rice and beans. The debate raged on for weeks and grew so heated that even other brands, from unrelated segments, spontaneously joined in these discussions, spreading the biggest debate in Brazil even wider, and making people bring rice and beans together again.

The 50/50 Pack generated more than 180k comments on social media. The most successful innovation in Camil's history, it resulted in 96% positive perceptions for the brand, an increase of 6 points in consideration, reaching 89.5%, and 5.2% growth in market share.

Moreover, the 50/50 Pack boosted bean sales by 24.7%, getting very close to rebalancing consumption.