The Vegetable Name Change – Delhaize

In 2017, it was found that only 5% of Belgians ate their daily recommended amount of fruit and vegetables (550 grammes). Kids and youth ate the least with most kids eating only 30%).

Delhaize, a leading supermarket chain, renamed its vegetables to thwart this unhealthful practice and increase sales of fresh produce.

TBWA Brussels came up with the Vegetable Name Change campaign, which renamed 12 different fruits and vegetables as “Magic Vegetables.”

Children in several schools were asked to ‘let their imaginations run wild’ and come up with the names of the produce. Many of the names were inspired by fairy tales,

Tomatoes were referred to as “clown noses,” while carrots were referred to as “orange rockets,” oyster mushrooms were ‘gnome trumpets’ and courgettes were ‘troll bats’ among other vegetables.

Delhaize aimed to encourage youngsters to try these “new” foods (but not popular) by presenting them in an entertaining way.

All aspects were covered like signs, packaging, and receipts in the store were renamed to reflect the new names.

It did not end there. It was taken digital too and kids can also come up with creative names for vegetables that weren’t featured in the campaign online.  For example  ‘giant’s nose’ for butternut squash or ‘witch’s broom’ instead of leek.

Results

Over 2 million magic vegetables were sold in two weeks with a 151% increase in sales.

Delhaize is one of three big supermarkets chains in Belgium. Delhaize, however, was reporting losses.

This campaign stood out for various reasons. (The usual route is to state the benefits of eating vegetables). Starting with demonstrating genuine concern for the health of its customers, as well as its willingness to take drastic measures (such as changing the packaging) in order to do so. The second reason is that by making its produce section more kid-friendly, Delhaize showed that it wanted to help parents by making their life a little bit easier. Thirdly, it involved the kids in the process making it fun and interactive. Fourthly, people say normal is boring and when kids saw something different, they are willing to experiment when they saw something ‘new’. Lastly, it spoke the ‘kids language’ which made it even more relatable