According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Colombian National Department of Planning, only in Colombia 6.1 million tons of food are wasted each year, and 40% of those are fruits and vegetables. As an answer to this problem, Makro Supermarkets set an objective to educate consumers to prevent food waste in a cheap and easy way in 22 of its shops nationwide.

We used a media that has existed for decades in the fruit and vegetable industry: The Fruit Sticker. But this time, we gave it a real purpose: To prevent food waste by extending their life cycles suggesting recipes based on the fruit's ripeness and color, especially in their most ripe stages cause that’s when people avoid their consumption, due to preconceived cosmetic reasons.

That’s why we created the Life Extending Stickers. Printed in its traditional size of 2.7 cm, with no need of technology, just a self explanatory help of colors to find recipes according to the fruit stage, we showed an easy way for consumers to get the most out of their fruits and vegetables from beginning to end, even when thought they were a waste. Makro gave a cheap analog anti-waste tool that also helps them save money because preventing food waste helps save cash.

We created 5 stickers for fruits and vegetables that according to data from the (DNP) National Department of Planning are the fruits and vegetables most wasted: Tomato - Banana - Avocado - Mango and Papaya. The stickers were stuck, and the exhibition at the supermarket was modified according to their colors or ripeness level, and a strategy of pricing associated with their ripeness is being tested: More ripe, it’s cheaper.

Using the brand's own media and social media, we invited clients to visit shops to live a new experience of saving money and sustainability, clients were guided to visit the fruit and vegetable section where they were received by promoters that explained how the sticker worked and what recipes they could prepare by visiting the brand's Instagram account. The clients enjoyed tastings of the recipes to demonstrate their freshness even if the fruits and vegetables are in their ripest stage.

Results forecasted for 2023:

6 more days, the average extended lifetime added.

4 more days, the average extended exhibition time in our stores.

70 tons less food waste a week, stores and homes combined.

Increased consumptions of the fruits and vegetables with the stickers, as people now know what to prepare with them.

22 stores nationwide.

5 different stickers, each one custom made for each fruit or vegetable: Tomato, Banana, Avocado, Mango and Papaya.

Colombia is an agricultural country where there’s a high production and a great variety of fruits and vegetables which accentuates the perception of the problem because people believe that even when a fruit or vegetable is at the beginning of its life cycle it should be thrown away because it's easy for them to access them and in big amounts.

The annual variation rate of the CPI in Colombia in March 2023 was 13.3%. The monthly variation of the CPI (Consumer Price Index) the accumulated inflation in 2023 is 4.6%. Faced with the economic recession in which all prices rise, Makro, with the LIFE EXTENDING STICKER gave also a way to avoid food waste, but also money. People began buying very ripe fruits and vegetables at a lower price; thus, the first step was taken to modify a buying habit deeply rooted in the culture. To not buy very ripe