Tesco's tasty tactic: How rebranding the humble apple gets picky kids eating

Think you know your apples? Think again. Tescois shaking up the produce aisle with a playful rebrand, trialling fun new names for everyday fruit and veg to tempt younger taste buds.

From “Crunchy Munchies” (apples) to “Fairy Umbrellas” (mushrooms), the supermarketgiant is putting a creative twist on food labelling to encourage kids to eat more healthily. It’s all part of an expanded Fruit and Veg for Schools programme, launched in partnership with the British Nutrition Foundation.

With four in five parents struggling to get their children to try new fruits and vegetables at home, Tesco hopes that playful names and imaginative descriptions will do the trick. And early results suggest it might be working.

READ MORE: Netflix wins battle for 'sinister' drama and sends it straight-to-series order

READ MORE: I wore Charlotte Tilbury’s new perfume in secret for a month and kept hearing the same thing

After conducting research and taste tests with children aged 4 to 8 across the UK, Tesco invited schoolkids to rename common produce based on flavours, textures, and fun associations. Broccoli became “Juicy Green Trees,” blackberries “Dark Stormy Clouds,” and blueberries were rebranded as “Squishy Marbles.”

These kid-approved names are now being trialled in select stores to test their impact on healthy eating habits - and peer influence may be key. New research shows 82% of children would try a new fruit or vegetable if a friend recommended it, compared to 75% who’d follow their parents’ lead. Additionally, 77% of kids responded more positively to food with playful, imaginative descriptions.

The rebrand coincides with the second year of the Fruit and Veg for Schools programme, which in its first year reached over 140,000 pupils in 400+ schools with higher-than-average free school meal rates. The initiative delivered more than 10 million portions of fruit and veg to children who might otherwise lack access to fresh produce.

This year, the programme expands to more than 550 schools, offering fresh produce and highlighting innovative ways schools are promoting healthy eating, from cookery classes to smoothie clubs.

Children have contributed other whimsical rebrands: Six-year-old Ella dubbed pineapple “Happy Cactus,” while Gwen, seven, named peaches “Velvet Tennis Balls.” Other highlights include “Green Water Drumsticks” (cucumbers) and “Unicorn Horns” (baby corn).

“Schools have told us what a positive impact the programme has made on their children,” said Ashwin Prasad, Tesco UK CEO. “The first year has been a huge success, and expanding it means even more children in some of the UK’s most challenged communities can benefit.”

Elaine Hindal, Chief Executive of the British Nutrition Foundation, added: “This programme is helping young people improve their diets, discover new fruit and veg, and build healthy habits that we hope will last a lifetime.”