As the European Union made 2014 the European year against food waste, Intermarché, the 3rd largest supermarkets chain in France decided to rehabilitate the non calibrated and imperfect fruits and vegetables. Why? Because by doing so, everybody wins: consumers get the same quality products for cheaper, the growers get money for products that are usually thrown away and Intermarché increase its business by selling a brand new line of products. Only one problem remains: how can we ensure customers actually buy these really ugly new products?

Intermarché launched “ the inglorious fruits and vegetables”, a campaign to rehabilitate the imperfect fruits and vegetables by celebrating the beauty of the ridiculous potato, the hideous orange or the failed lemon.... The idea was to show people that, though they might by ugly looking, they are as good as any others, but 30% cheaper. Therefore, buying them is not only good for their wallets but for the entire planet.

Our new kind of fruits & vegetables were an immediate success. Intermarché sold 1.2 tons average per store during the first 2 days and many of them had been sold out before the planned replenishment. The in-store traffic increased by 24% overall and the entire fruits and vegetables section benefited from the campaign as the sales grew by 10%. With over 20 print articles, 75 web articles, 3 300 tweets, 3 600 re-tweets, and mentions on national television, the campaign reached over 13 million people in France! This campaign accelerated the change within Intermarché as the offer is to be implemented nationally, and amongst competition, as Intermarché’s two main competitors are now thinking about launching a similar offer.

Intermarché raised awareness about this new line of products through a massive promotion campaign celebrating their taste as their “inner beauty” and promoting their right to be treated as any other fruit or vegetable. The retailer made sure to prove this in-store. They got their own print and film campaign, their own local poster and radio campaign, their own in-store branding, their own aisle in store, their own labelling, and their own spots on the sale receipt. Finally, to prove to people that they were just as good as the others, Intermarché designed and distributed inglorious vegetables soups and inglorious fruit juices in stores.