Valentine's Day has come and gone. Around this time, thoughts might typically turn towards champagne and strawberries, or perhaps even tomatoes. However, a quintessential Belgian vegetable, chicory (witloof), might not be the first thing that comes to mind. Yet, BelOrta sees a natural connection between the two, prompting them to introduce their 'with love' chicory packaging, especially for the holiday. "We couldn't resist the 'with love' wordplay, and Valentine's Day aligns perfectly with the chicory season," explains Glenn Sebregts.
"Every year, chicory consumption dips noticeably after the festive season, even though the supply remains stable. VLAM had already launched a Chicory Week to boost consumption. It's a great initiative, but we also started thinking about how we could make chicory stand out on the store shelves. We quickly landed on chicory 'with love,' which perfectly ties in with the love with which our growers cultivate the chicory."
"Chicory is a very distinct vegetable. It may not be the first product you think of for Valentine's Day, but it's versatile and dearly loved by certain consumers and chefs. That love makes it ideally suited for this day of love," says Glenn. "You can use it to prepare countless delicious, surprising dishes for this special day. The chicory season hasn't been easy due to root harvesting problems in the fall and high prices during the festive season. In this way, we hope to boost this product and keep it in the spotlight until the end of the season."
The 'with love' Valentine's packaging is the cooperative's latest introduction in a series of packaging innovations for special occasions. There have already been AppelSintjes to stimulate apple consumption around St. Nicholas' Day and Brainboosters for snack tomatoes during the exam period. "The trade loved these. The market currently receives such themed packaging well, and people notice them. With this eye-catching packaging, where a heart replaces the usual BelOrta Ò, we should draw customers to the chicory section. These special Valentine's bags replaced the standard BelOrta 500g zipper bags until yesterday, February 14th," Glenn concludes.
For more information:
Glenn Sebregts
BelOrta
120 Mechelsesteenweg
2860, Sint-Katelijne-Waver, BE
Tel.: +32 (0) 15 55 11 11
info@belorta.be
www.belorta.be