LIDL has called on other supermarkets to revamp the design of their fruit and vegetable packaging to make the products more appealing.
It comes after changes to the retailer’s Oaklands Funsize range of fruit and vegetables increased by more than a third since the introduction of specially designed packaging in 2017.
The collection comprises fresh fruit and vegetables with quirky names and cartoon characters, such as Banana-Llamas and Tawny Tomatowl. To further encourage youngsters, competitions were held to name and design cartoon characters – including Koala Pears – which Lidl said led to nearly a quarter of a million additional units being sold.
The supermarket also announced it will remove cartoon characters on unhealthy products by spring next year. Over 14 different product categories will be impacted, such as sweets, chocolates and savoury snacks, with at least 30 products getting a fresh look.
The move follows Lidl’s removal of cartoon characters from cereal packaging in 2020. The changes are said to mark a significant step in helping families across the country make healthier choices, after research revealed that over two thirds (68%) of parents found child friendly characters on unhealthy food and drink packaging made it more difficult to feed their children a healthy diet.
Peter de Roos, chief commercial officer at Lidl GB, said, “Our ambition is to make high quality, healthy food accessible to all, and the principal way we achieve this is through our best value prices. But we also recognise that there are other barriers in place, particularly concerning children, and parents are telling us that unhelpful packaging is one of them.
“This is something that’s so simple for us supermarkets to change, and our results show the positive impact that these small changes can make. We hope other supermarkets follow in our footsteps so that, as a sector, we can be confident we’re doing all we can to support parents in helping to improve the diets of the next generation.”
