For the first time the French group, which produces canned, frozen, fresh and prepared foods, is bypassing retailers and selling directly to consumers.
The ‘Mon Panier Secret’ [My Secret Basket] concept has taken more than two years to get off the ground, but seeks to promote the brand’s products by engaging customers directly with the company.
Besides having Bonduelle vegetables delivered straight to the home, a range of topical in-house cooking courses can be arranged.
Mon Panier Secret is up and running but Bonduelle is currently looking for ambassadors for the project, who would earn commission by travelling to homes and promoting the concept through cooking classes and workshops.
Workshops offered on the sight are divided into various themes, including educating children on vegetables and how to cook, and teaching the busy adult how to cook vegetables meals quickly and easily.
The company says part of its aim is to promote vegetable consumption and bring traditional cooking back to the fore; if the scheme finds success in Bonduelle's native France, it may be replicated elsewhere in the EU.
If other food manufacturer decide to follow Bonduelle's example of marketing through direct sales and food services, supermarkets and other retailers may find themselves increasingly cut out.
Pledge more veg
According to the European Food Information Council (EFIC) a majority of Europeans do not receive a daily intake of vegetables at the level recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
This is due to a number of limiting factors they say, and recommend “multi-component strategies addressing both personal factors such as knowledge and skills, as well as the physical and social environment by [for example] increasing the availability of fruits and vegetables”.
The 160-year old Bonduelle group is a major supplier of vegetable products throughout the EU and United States. It is valued at over €800m on the stock market and employs thousands of farmers over hundreds of thousands of farm lands throughout the world.