At Potager City, the pineapple has lost its crown. Following in the footsteps of Cora at the start of the year, the chain specialized in the delivery of fruit and vegetable baskets to relay outlets, decided last month to offer pineapples without crowns. Laurent Vichard, managing director of Potager City, explains the reasons behind this choice and the reactions of customers.
Potager City, rue de Bazeilles, 5th arrondissement / © Potager City
"Bringing something new to things that were tested years ago"
The initiative is not new, and it had not met a lot of success. "We are fully aware that this is not a novelty. It was tested for a long time in supermarkets, but it was perhaps too avant-garde at the time. Today, the market has changed and there is an interest in bringing something new to concepts that have already been tried and tested in the past," explains Laurent Vichard. Initially reserved for the anti-waste offer, Potager City finally decided to incorporate this new product into its traditional range, given the enthusiasm it generated. "Customer feedback has been unanimous. We have received very good feedback from our network of shops, as well as positive feedback from online clients."
Potager City offers pineapples without crowns from Ecuador (the main supplier to the European market, alongside Ivory Coast and Costa Rica). The product stands out from other origins "thanks to its higher brix content and higher repurchase rate" / © PotagerCity.fr
Why does it work?
"A gesture for the planet and for the wallet," according to Potager City's LinkedIn page at the time of the launch. Crownless pineapples have two advantages. The first is economic. "The price difference between pineapples with and without crowns is significant, at approximately 30%. Sometimes the difference can even reach 50%. Extra sweet pineapples are usually sold at 3.59 euros [3.78 USD], compared with 2.29 euros [2.41 USD] without a crown." The second advantage is ecological. "The crown, which represents 20% of the weight of the pineapple, is either recycled to make fertilizer or replanted. This reuse avoids destruction costs that represent no less than 22 million euros per year [23 million USD] on the European market alone.
And if the clients are receptive, it is also because the company has decided to focus on raising awareness. "It is an approach that makes sense. We felt there was a story to be told about these crownless pineapples, and that is why it works! For about 2 weeks now, Potager City has been promoting the economic and ecological benefits of its new product, once a week directly to its clients' mailboxes before any updates to the web offer.
Potager City, rue de Bazeilles, 5th arrondissement / © Potager City
Developing value-adding initiatives
"At Potager City, we are convinced that the most important word is valuation. When we work on this type of approach, we work on value, and it is not contradictory to associate value with purchasing power." For this reason, the company is keen to develop its value-adding initiatives. "We are currently working on different products, such as small kiwis, small celery and large zucchinis, mainly for our anti-waste offers, both online and in stores. This is what enables us to offer consumers an economically attractive alternative, always with a view to enhance the value of agricultural production."
For more information:
Laurent Vichard
Potager City
[email protected]