Since April 2016, the German discounter Penny sells, under the brand 'Naturgut-Biohelden' fruit and vegetables that do not always look completely perfect, in the whole of Germany. However, the little beauty errors do not affect the shelf life nor the taste, the Naturgut- Biohelden are simply of the highest bio quality.
The Naturgut-Biohelden are, one year after their introduction, very popular with Penny's customers. Sales increased by almost 7.5 percent. Because of the high demand, Penny has increased the number of Biohelden from 13 to 21 items (including local products and seasonal items). The absolute favorites of the customers are bio-pepper (+ 54%) followed by bio-cucumber (+ 52%), bio-kiwi (+ 33%) and finally bio-TOVs (+ 25%). But also the growers clearly benefit from the concept. Johannes Remmel, Minister of Agriculture of North Rhine-Westphalia, had himself convinced of this by visiting 'Naturhof Wolfsberg' in Alfter-Impekoven near Bonn on May 4.
Minister Remmel: "The sale of organic vegetables and organic fruit with minor flaws should have been done a lot earlier. The destruction of food is no longer acceptable - not just for ethical reasons only. The growers are now given the opportunity to receive appropriate prices for high quality food. That has strengthened the German agriculture. I therefore hope that the model of Penny will be followed and will be a symbol for food valuation. I hope that further initiatives will be taken."
Dr. Andreas Mager, manager of Naturhof Wolfsberg: "Thanks to the concept of Biohelden, we now can also sell stone fruit with beauty flaws at an appropriate price. At the same time, the sorting work clearly decreases. I estimate that, compared to previous years, we achieve 20 percent more sales and more turnover. It is also a necessity for us because this is the only way for us to finance the very labor-intensive work in production as well as our nature projects. At the moment we are investing heavily in the biodiversity of our company."