Ugly, misshapen fruit makes a comeback and becomes a hot seller
In the past, fruit sold in fruit shops or supermarkets was all attractive in appearance and regular in shape. But in the past two years, I have noticed that fruit with an “ugly, misshapen” look has started to make a comeback. First there was the “Ugly” mandarin that “burst onto the scene” last year, followed by the ugly apple that has swept the market this year, with its rough appearance and not-low price, yet it has attracted quite a few city residents.
Ugly fruit, but the price is not cheap. The citrus “Ugly” mandarin, all wrinkled and with dull, lusterless skin, has been popular from last year into this year. In the eyes of Ms. Zhang, a resident of Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, China, although the “Ugly” mandarin looks ugly, it is “beautiful inside.” “The taste when you eat it is completely different from how it looks. It is sweet and tart, with plenty of juice, and you want more after eating it.”
Employees at several fruit shops that sell the “Ugly” mandarin told me that this fruit has sold very well since the beginning of winter, with quite a lot of repeat customers. But do not assume that this “Ugly” mandarin, which looks like fruit that has not sold for many days and is no longer fresh, is cheap. It sells for 10-12 yuan per kg.
Besides the ugly mandarin, ugly apples have also been selling quite briskly recently. A few days ago, I went to a fruit shop and spotted the “rustic, homely, and ugly” apples at a glance among all kinds of apples. Compared with other apples, its outer color is not very uniform, with one side dark red and the other side green, and green spots scattered sparsely on the skin. It is on the small side, and its shape is not very regular, but you can very clearly smell the fresh fragrance of apples.
According to the shop assistant, this kind of ugly apple is actually a wild apple produced in mountainous areas. It grows in places with high altitude and ample sunshine, is original-ecology, and pollution-free. “Wild apples went on sale in October this year, and the price for a 5 kg pack is between 70 yuan and 80 yuan.” It is precisely by relying on this “original ecology” label that ugly apples easily captured many consumers. Even though they are quite a bit more expensive than ordinary apples, some fruit shops can still sell dozens of boxes every day.
Industry insiders: “Original ecology” is just a marketing gimmick; there are different reasons for growing ugly
Regarding the comeback of “ugly, misshapen” fruit, fruit sellers have their own views. “In recent years, more and more customers have been paying attention to food safety issues and are afraid of buying ‘beautified fruit’ such as waxed apples, ripening-agent strawberries, and watermelons.” said Mr. Ruan, the person in charge of a fruit shop. It is precisely because of this mentality that customers believe fruit that grows like this is its natural appearance, and coupled with good taste, ugly fruit has become favored.
In his view, the claims of wild and original ecology are all marketing gimmicks. “Take wild apples as an example. If they were truly wild, the output could absolutely not meet market demand.” He told me that wild apples are not entirely grown in a purely natural environment. It should just be that they are provided with a geographical environment suitable for apple growth, without artificial intervention, similar to wild. Wild apples on the market are mainly produced in high-mountain environments such as Sichuan and Yunnan, with ample sunshine and a large temperature difference between day and night, so the apples have higher sugar content, and therefore taste better than ordinary apples, but the cost of reduced artificial intervention is poor appearance.