10 July 2023
By: Amelia Genis
Hail-damaged apples are on supermarket shelves thanks to a collaboration between Dutoit Agri, Good Hope Fruit and Pick n Pay. Last November, hail hit orchards in Ceres, the Koue Bokkeveld, and the Agter-Witzenberg Valley, and in February it affected the Langkloof.
Good Hope Fruit business manager Johan du Toit says they decided to approach Pick n Pay to try a “Hail to the Heroes” campaign, not only to sell the damaged apples but to make consumers aware that marked fruit is just as delicious and healthy.
“Through this, we are trying to make consumers more aware of the natural setbacks such as hail that we as producers experience.”
Du Toit says the hail arrived early in the growth process when the fruits were vulnerable to damage. “The fruits were still very soft at that stage, and that’s why the impact was so significant. But because the fruits were still early in the growth process, those that were less damaged could still recover to some extent, leaving only cosmetic injuries, just like with humans.”
It is difficult to determine how many apples have been “saved” by the campaign, he says. “They talk about an estimated loss in the valley of about 200 000 crates, while we at Good Hope Fruit lost more than 25% of the total. If the fruits couldn’t be packed, many fruits would have had to be juiced or dried and, in extreme cases, discarded.”
Changing consumers’ perceptions
Du Toit says they want to change consumers’ views. “Consumers have the perception that only beautiful and perfect fruits are tasty, rich in nutritional value, and healthy. And that’s not entirely true. Hail-damaged fruits with cosmetic injuries are just as delicious, nutritious and healthy as any other apple.”
Rebecca Fifield, a food technologist at Pick n Pay, says they have a longstanding relationship with their suppliers and wanted to help them through a difficult time, prevent job losses on farms and reduce food waste.
“We thought it was very important to educate consumers about what happened to the fruits and explain why we are running this campaign. The fruits that will be packed have only minor injuries and are still delicious and nutritious.
“We live in a time when fruits or food that are completely edible should not be discarded just because they don’t look as beautiful as usual.”
Pick n Pay would have had a shortage of apples if it hadn’t embraced the campaign, she says. “The hail severely reduced the apple harvest.”
And the retailer believes it is important to support farmers, because without them there would be no food. “They make great efforts to prepare trees to produce fruits once a year, and we cannot allow it to be in vain.”
Du Toit says it is still early in the campaign but consumer sentiment is favourable, and Good Hope Fruit and Dutoit Agri will monitor sales data over the next few months.
Fifield says the apples, labelled with “Hail to the Heroes” stickers, have been well received. A QR code on the bag can be scanned if consumers want more information about the campaign.
Pick n Pay will promote other so-called “ugly” fruits to reduce waste and support farmers, she says. “We already have permanent lines in some of our stores where we accept fruits with unusual sizes, strange shapes, less colour and more superficial injuries.”
