- Carrefour launches the Únicos programme in Brazil; one of its initiatives to combat and minimize food wastage
Boulogne-Billancourt, France, 2017-Nov-07 — /EPR Retail News/ — Carrefour has launched the Únicos programme in Brazil, a marketing initiative for quality produce which does not correspond to the traditional food aesthetic marketing standards. In all, there are more than 10 types of fruits and vegetables with discounts starting at 30%. The programme encourages the consumption of produce considered “ugly”, because it is in unusual sizes and shapes that do not come up to the aesthetic standards currently adopted by producers and retailers in Brazil. Part of the Carrefour Group’s Sustainability Platform, the initiative contributes to waste reduction in Brazil, one of the world’s leading food producers. It also creates new possibilities of using this produce which often doesn’t reach the tables of consumers due to the aesthetic requirements of producers, distributors and traders today (11/03/2017).
Starting this month, the Únicos programme will be rolled out every Friday in certain Carrefour hypermarkets in São Paulo (SP) and will have its own communications strategy and store furniture in the Market format. Several varieties of fruits and vegetables, such as Italian zucchini, potato, eggplant, beet, onion, carrot, chayote, orange, gala apple, cucumber and tomato, will be sold in vacuum-sealed packages.
In Brazil, more than 40,000 tons of food are wasted annually. Worldwide, this amounts to 1.3 billion tons, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Furthermore, according to the FAO, about 30% of food that is produced in the world is discarded and lost even before reaching the consumer’s table.
The Carrefour Brazil Group has therefore adopted several initiatives to combat and minimize food wastage. Since 2015, Atacadão, the company’s cash & carry format, has led the way in Brazil by commercializing produce considered non-aesthetically standard through the “Sans Form” programme, where “ugly” fruits and vegetables are sold at a discount. The initiative is currently rolled out in nine self-service Atacadão stores in the states of São Paulo, Rio Grande do Sul and Pernambuco.
Currently under implementation at Carrefour stores, the Únicos programme will be initially rolled out in two hypermarkets in São Paulo, located in the Pinheiros and José Bonifácio neighbourhoods, on the well-known Estrada do Pêssego. The initiative is part of the main pillar of the company’s Sustainability Platform in Brazil designed to combat food waste. The Platform has several programmes such as the ‘Zero Waste’ Movement which includes internal and external awareness initiatives with employees, customers and partners, as well as initiatives to contain and reduce waste of natural resources, especially food, in its day-to-day operations.
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Source: Carrefour Group
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