Family-owned grocer, Harris Farm Markets, has doubled the imperfect picks range in store, to boost its food waste reduction efforts in Australia.
The imperfect picks campaign will take to market more of Australia’s fresh and tasty products, which would otherwise have been dumped, ploughed back into a field or used as animal feed. This campaign will also see Harris Farm achieve four million kg of imperfect produce sold – the equivalent of 200 semi-trailers by mid-May 2016.
“As lovers of fresh, great tasting produce, we always knew that imperfect fruit and vegetables were just as delicious and great for cooking as the blemish-free kind. It’s even better that NSW agrees, having almost consumed four million kilos.” said Harris Farm Markets’ Co-CEO Tristan Harris.
At up to 50 per cent cheaper than their more perfect counterparts, households are able to fill their fridges and pantries with produce which might not have made it to the shopping basket.
“We’ve had an overwhelmingly positive response from our customers who previously might have thought twice about stocking up on everyday fruit and veg that broke the budget,” Harris adds.
French supermarket Intermarché inspired the imperfect picks campaign, set out to lessen the food waste foot-print by putting fruit and vegetables on shelves that didn’t meet the high aesthetic standards of supermarket chains.
John Lloyd, CEO of Horticulture Innovation Australia comments, “When Harris Farm Markets kicked off this initiative in 2014, we were thrilled that a supermarket chain was taking action to alleviate and change the situation. Hopefully the news that they are doubling the lines in-store will provoke other industry leaders to consider how they can integrate this model.”
