![]() Currently, the national standard permits a particular fraction of items to be non-standard in shape or size - typically around 10 to 20 per cent. Roe says that one potential direction to address this issue is to change the national standard. Roe found that with these two messages were both included to consumers, they were willing to purchase misfit carrots at a discount than what they would pay in comparison to perfect, grocery store standard carrots. “A social angle, stating ‘If you buy these, it’s going to be less food wasted, and that’s good for society.’ Then a private angle, which is that these vegetables are just as nutritious and natural.” “You really need to emphasize two aspects of imperfect produce that make it potentially desirable to consumers,” he says. When it came down to the message, Roe says they worked to create a message that got across two separate ideas - a social idea and a private angle. “Uniformity is used as a signal as quality, but naturalness doesn’t always come in perfect uniformity.” “It was calibrating what kind of prices and promotional elements change their willingness to pay for these products,” he says. Typically, these ranged somewhere between 10 to 40 per cent discounts in comparison to standard produce. Using discounts from the marketplace where ugly produce was typically being sold, Roe and his team produced a scale to see what prices consumers would be willing to purchase imperfect vegetables at. In two dimensions, people can pick out whether carrots are ‘ugly’ pretty quickly, where other crops, like tomatoes, could be tricker.” “Then, it needed to work in our research, two-dimensional setting. One: it had to be something that a lot of consumers were familiar with,” Roe says. Participants were shown different images of carrots to see which they’d be more likely to choose and in what specific scenario. ![]() The study measured consumer responses to hypothetical questions all around the idea of carrots. “Ideally, it’s the last stop in the food system and not the landfill.” “Understanding the consumer is, in my opinion, fundamental for reducing waste throughout the system, and therefore making it more sustainable,” he says. When it comes down to it, misshapen produce is no different. Everything else really has to be set up to ensure that occurs.” “The success of the food system is whether or not food is actually consumed by a consumer. “The food system is really designed around the consumer,” says Brian Roe, Van Buren professor in the department of agricultural, environmental and development economics at Ohio State University. When it comes down to it, though, what’s the perfect marketing information to sell to the consumer? Photo: Brian Roe, Ohio State UniversityĪn Ohio State University researcher looked to see if explaining the value of these misshapen vegetables could improve sales of “ugly” produce. There are plenty marketing campaigns aiming to uplift these imperfect vegetables - calling specifically that while blemishes might lower them from usual grocery standards, they are safe to eat and help minimize food waste in the fields.ĭelivery services have also taken to misshapen vegetables, with direct-to-door services such as Misfit Markets and Imperfect Foods, delivering “ugly” produce straight to consumers doors. ![]() Have you ever walked to the local grocery store’s produce section, only to see a bin full of “misfit produce”? Think about it: lemons with bruises, tomatoes with large buldges, or even carrots with two separate roots that look like a pair of legs. Ohio State University looks into the messaging needed for consumers to buy imperfect produce.
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