Austrian supermarket chain Billa has started an online campaign to highlight its seasonal selection of 'Wunderlinge', or 'Wonky Fruit & Veg'.
A heart-shaped potato, a cucumber with "pretty sharp curves" and a four-legged carrot are part of a Wonky Veg troupe, performing in a video published on YouTube. As they dance across the screen, speech-bubbles appear with encouraging phrases like, "Real taste comes from within" and "The time has come for natural beauty".
To promote a more sustainable way of life and combat the waste of large numbers of strange-looking but perfectly tasty produce, Billa started a private-label range of 'Wunderlinge' in October 2013, when it offered good-quality fruit & veg with more than one visual flaw at a discount.
The promotion was an instant success and saved close to 5 million fresh fruits and vegetables that year from being wasted for no other reason than their looks. Successive campaigns proved equally popular with the supermarket's customers.
The Billa chain was founded by Karl Wlaschek in 1953. Today, it operates more than 1,000 stores across Austria.
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Martha Sparrius. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
