The Fresh Produce industry has spent millions of Euros getting children to eat healthier, but youngsters still tend to go for chocolate bars and hamburgers. Tomato grower Joep Raemakers came up with something that could possibly turn the tide. Inspired by a Spanish piggybank and the box of a Happy Meal he created a series of superheroes children would die for: the Bikkels (The go-getters). For the project he worked together with packaging company Vadrupak
“The idea is simple,” says Joep, “get kids to eat vegetables. So far, this hasn’t been easy. Even with the familiar shakers. To kids, shakers still look like boring packaging. They need something exciting. So I decided to redesign the shaker. I trifled with the idea when I came up with the My Gartner-shakers. Then one day, my imagination was triggered when I found out one of clients was in need of a new brand.”
Joep got excited when he came across a piggybank in Spain. “It already had the shape of a shaker, but it also kind of reminded me of a superhero. So I got together with Alfred van den Drumpt of Vadrupak, and we came up with our own superhero. We figured, if McDonalds can do it, why not us? Eventually, and with the help of others, we came up with an entire market campaign.”
The two friends visited primary schools to introduce the designs and children just went crazy over them. “They wanted one immediately.” Marketing the concept however, proved difficult. “Finally German retailer Kaiser’s Tengelmann saw potential and started selling them. They have been promoting them in 600 stores and the idea is catching on. Right now, a website is launched on which the Bikkels are having all kinds of adventures. Eating vegetables is one of the central themes: because they eat them, the superheroes are able to gain super powers!”
At the moment, there are three characters in existence: Pling the smart one, Woesj the fast one, and Forz the strong one. “The merchandise potential is enormous. But no matter how big the hype, in the end it’s all about the benefit of vegetables.”
For more information:
Fossa Eugenia
www.fossaeugenia.nl
www.wijzijnbikkels.nl
Announcements
Vacancies
- Technical Sales Representative, Leamington, Ontario
- Technical Sales Representative, Ancaster, Ontario
- HR Generalist
- Head Grower Strawberries (West Virginia USA)
- Global Sourcing Manager
- Buying Operations Manager (BOM Process)
- Sourcing Manager EU
- Manager Operations Ethiopia
- Senior Grower
- Propagation Specialist
"Tweeting Growers"
Top 5 - yesterday
- Greenhouse pepper growers in Tokat, Turkey cannot solve root collar rot problem
- Bhutan’s declining chili production sparks concerns
- Red chilis drying between railway lines create a pretty picture
- South Korea: New 9-unit strawberry farm produces 500kg daily
- "Sustainability is also about extending the life of greenhouses"
Top 5 - last week
Top 5 - last month
- "Vertical solar panels under the gutter can provide significant savings in plastic greenhouses"
- The differences between greenhouse growers in US and Canada
- German grower reduces moisture in slabs with Spacer
- Half the labor if tomato grows upside down?
- China: Abundance of crops grow in arid Xinjiang desert
Joep Raemakers on his 'super vegetables':
Netherlands: How a piggybank became a ‘Go-getter’.
Publication date:
Receive the daily newsletter in your email for free | Click here
Other news in this sector:
- 2023-05-30 Two new cover additives to balance the temperature between night and day
- 2023-05-26 Apples and blackberries may help lower chances of frailty at later age
- 2023-05-23 Two vegan chopped salad kits introduced
- 2023-05-16 Greenhouse grower sponsors men’s healthy eating guide
- 2023-05-12 Risk of heart disease might drop significantly by drinking these fruit juices
- 2023-05-12 State: "lēf Farms products are safe, recall has been canceled"
- 2023-05-10 "We introduce a single-use real-time carbon dioxide monitor"
- 2023-05-09 Why moviegoers should dread on-screen asparagus
- 2023-05-08 CABI supports increase in vegetable production and consumption in Kenya and Ethiopia
- 2023-05-08 Vegetable still life by Van Gogh renamed as the onions weren’t onions
- 2023-04-27 Unveiling the Fifth Taste: Umami Bombs
- 2023-04-18 Chopped Salad Kit line introduces five new flavors
- 2023-04-07 New duct-mounted carbon dioxide transmitter launched
- 2023-03-30 “Those who have tried our product often order a second one”
- 2023-03-28 How do blue tomatoes get their color and what do they taste like?
- 2023-03-23 New tropical mini pepper launched
- 2023-03-23 "In the organic and Demeter segment in particular, our product has already become well established"
- 2023-03-20 Spring seasonal vegetables include agretti, strigoli, and radicchio
- 2023-03-17 Tasty Tom gets a new look
- 2023-03-15 Can plastic pads provide the same air cooling as paper pads?
