tchai goes under the skin of the fruit and vegetable trade!

The optimal way of marketing the fruit and vegetable trade is not a simple task. How can you be distinctive within the potato, fruit and vegetable department? Fruit and vegetables are delicate products of which a good knowledge is required to be able to market them in the correct way. But it is worth the effort to be advised in this. A good product presentation will increase customer experience and decrease the waste. And this you will see back in profit.

Almost 50% of all fruit and vegetables that are produced in Europe are lost in the food chain. Not always during distribution or in the supermarket but also by the consumer. Researchers from the University of Gent came to this conclusion through their research In the supermarket sales staff are often lacking the specific knowledge that is required for fruit and vegetables, which causes problems with the presentation and waste prevention.

The Problem

We got together with Chiquita to think about the best way that we could present her bananas in the shops. The starting point for this was to raise the ‘appetite appeal’ of Chiquita bananas in-store.

At the beginning of last year Chiquita led an extensive category management study in the Benelux. This was extremely successful and indicated possibilities where the banana category could grow substantially. For example, Chiquita found that 80% of their consumers prefer to buy their bananas when they have a certain fresh yellow colour. Besides this 50% of the purchases are impulse buys where the consumer prefers to select the bananas for themselves.

The Solution

We absorbed all this information and gave a lot of thought to the development of their shelf system. The design was developed on the natural shape of bananas. The bananas lay better on the shelves, the consumer can pick through them easily. A cluster of 3,4 or even 5 bananas? Specific wishes for the colour or shape of the bananas? The Chiquita shelf system offers the consumer a perfect overview. Every time the bananas are unnecessarily touched can lead to damage. Thanks to the shelf design the bananas are not picked up so often which has a positive effect on the quality. The chance of damage falls by 29%. The design has a fresh and natural feel and the Chiquita logo is clearly visible making the Chiquita brand perception stronger.

The Result

What does this all mean for Chiquita? Between 10% and 25% more sales and in some shops the loss has fallen by a half. The customer, the producer and the retailer are more than satisfied!