Won't Shop, You Can't Make Me
Just how much are we being manipulated when we go shopping? According to Martin Lindstrom in Fast Company, a lot:
Let's pay a visit to Whole Foods' splendid Columbus Circle store in New York City. As you descend the escalator you enter the realm of a freshly cut flowers. These are what advertisers call "symbolics"--unconscious suggestions. In this case, letting us know that what's before us is bursting with freshness.
...Consider the opposite--what if we entered the store and were greeted with stacks of canned tuna...?
Well, I like canned tuna, but I get the point. Lindstrom is the author of Brandwashed, and he's hip to a lot of the mind-gaming tricks retailers play on us:
Speaking of fruit, you may think a banana is just a banana, but it's not. Dole and other banana growers have turned the creation of a banana into a science, in part to manipulate perceptions of freshness. In fact, they've issued a banana guide to greengrocers, illustrating the various color stages a banana can attain during its life cycle. Each color represents the sales potential for the banana in question. For example, sales records show that bananas with Pantone color 13-0858 (otherwise known as Vibrant Yellow) are less likely to sell than bananas with Pantone color 12-0752 (also called Buttercup), which is one grade warmer, visually, and seems to imply a riper, fresher fruit. Companies like Dole have analyzed the sales effects of all varieties of color and, as a result, plant their crops under conditions most ideal to creating the right 'color.' And as for apples? Believe it or not, my research found that while it may look fresh, the average apple you see in the supermarket is actually 14 months old.
I'm actually relieved to know that retailers and grocers are thinking about this stuff. I guess we're all supposed to be creeped out by how well they know us, and how ruthlessly they exploit our need for the perfect color banana or the freshest looking produce, but for some reason I'm not. It's comforting, in a weird way, to know that they're all actually competing to make us feel good.
No one at the Post Office does that.
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Comments:
Re: Won't Shop, You Can't Make Me
The average apple is 14 months old?! I didn't know apples had such impressive shelf lives...
Mar '11
Re: Won't Shop, You Can't Make Me
The problem with American apples is that they don't taste like apples - but they do look fantastic. One of the delights of returning to England is to eat a Cox's Orange Pippin - yum, yum!
I always buy my bananas when they are slightly green (#2 or 3 above) - in AZ they ripen very quickly.
Feb '11
Re: Won't Shop, You Can't Make Me
Marketing isn't manipulation, it's information, but we all knew this.
Mar '11
Re: Won't Shop, You Can't Make Me
Even if they ripen quickly and go bad, homemade cider is always an option.
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I've never quite been able to understand why progressives are terrified of the mild manipulation--like, say, that of a greengrocer (by the way, been years since I've heard greengrocer)--but are willing to cede massive authority to faceless bureaucrats 1,000 miles away over every sector of our lives.
I'll take the yellow banana, thanks.
Jul '10
Re: Won't Shop, You Can't Make Me
"I have a dream... one day [We will] live in a Nation where [the fruit] will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content[s] of their [skin].
Jun '10
Re: Won't Shop, You Can't Make Me
They don't, it's all about the science of storage. Generally cool 30 to 32 degrees F with 90 to 95% humidity. Optimal storage conditions vary with the type of apple.
Feb '11
Re: Won't Shop, You Can't Make Me
I dunno. When I go to the Post Office, I'm glad not to have to wait in line for more than an hour and get out without somebody opening fire. When I go to Fresh Market, I'm glad to come home with any money left. Very different expectations.
I have a very jaded view of what constitutes fresh fruit. I've lived in tropical countries in Africa and South America. So you learn a banana isn't just a banana (lots of varieties) and what they call bananas in the US don't taste anything like a banana ripened on the stalk. And you had to buy a complete stalk if you were buying bananas in Africa. Not to worry though, it cost you less than a couple of dollars. And an orange is green when ripe in Brazil which really confused me at first.
Edited on September 21, 2011 at 8:24pmJun '10
Re: Won't Shop, You Can't Make Me
David Williamson: The problem with American apples is that they don't taste like apples - but they do look fantastic. One of the delights of returning to England is to eat a Cox's Orange Pippin - yum, yum!
I always buy my bananas when they are slightly green (#2 or 3 above) - in AZ they ripen very quickly. · Sep 21 at 10:54am
What precisely is an "American" apple? A MacIntosh, A Golden Delicious, A Granny Smith? The original tree that produced the first MacIntosh apples died within the last twenty or so years. It was well over 100 years old. Why this fact it important, apples seeds, as I understand, carry little of the apples characteristics, such as texture and flavour. Generally, if I am not mistaken, the surest way to transfer apple characteristics is through grafts. I am not a sure about the foregoing so if any at Ricochet can add to or correct the foregoing I would be greatly interested in reading the post.
Edited on September 21, 2011 at 8:26pmJun '10
Re: Won't Shop, You Can't Make Me
I forgot to add that apples are stored in air tight warehouses which once shut are pumped full of CO2.
May '10
Re: Won't Shop, You Can't Make Me
So do I, especially when it comes to "exotics." When I got back to the U.S., I refused to eat bananas for years. Those horrid things they sold at supermarkets were so dry and bitter and tasteless.
Fortunately, when I moved back to the U.S., I settled in the San Joaquin Valley which does have the best grapes, apricots, cherries, nectarines, and pomegranates. Oh. And the Fuyu persimmons! Yeah, baby! However, I do miss my "exotics."
Rob Long:
The man is right. When I walk into a nearby Asian market to pick up my "exotics," I am immediately assaulted with the noxious odor of dead fish. Ew! Suddenly, all I want to do is rush over to the fruit section, grab my goodies and go. As the nausea subsides, I may take a gander down the cookies and chips section only to hurriedly run to the counter after seeing the dried shrimp and dried fishy chips.
Jan '11
Re: Won't Shop, You Can't Make Me
Funny. My wife suggested the same for me. I'm glad you mentioned this, because originally I had taken her suggestion the wrong way.
Re: Won't Shop, You Can't Make Me
Are we sure this is right? The "average" apple is 14 months old? As in there are some that are much older?
Feb '11
Re: Won't Shop, You Can't Make Me
" David Williamson: The problem with American apples is that they don't taste like apples - but they do look fantastic."
The same can be said about banana's. As an old guy, I well remember what a banana is supposed to taste like.....unfortunately, they are now picked so green that they never acquire the true banana taste! Tomatoes, unless you grow them yourself, are basically tasteless if purchased at a store....I could go on, but I think you get to drift.
May '11
Re: Won't Shop, You Can't Make Me
The variety of banana that is most widely sold is known as a Cavendish banana which is expected to become extinct soon due a fungus known as tropical race 4. The cavendish was developed as a replacement for the varieties made extinct by tropical race 1. There will probably be a new variety developed with a similarly long shelf life but we may end up cherishing green bananas.
Re: Won't Shop, You Can't Make Me
FeliciaB
When I got back to the U.S., I refused to eat bananas for years. Those horrid things they sold at supermarkets were so dry and bitter and tasteless.
Fortunately, when I moved back to the U.S., I settled in the San Joaquin Valley which does have the best grapes, apricots, cherries, nectarines, and pomegranates. Oh. And the Fuyu persimmons! Yeah, baby! However, I do miss my "exotics."
I grew up in the San Joaquin! And it was wonderful to have all of these wonderful fruits and vegetables in our backyard "garden"/small farm. I miss the taste of tomatoes. I don't know what it is they're selling these days that go by the name, but I know they are not real tomatoes.
Feb '11
Re: Won't Shop, You Can't Make Me
FeliciaB
Rob Long:
The man is right. When I walk into a nearby Asian market to pick up my "exotics," I am immediately assaulted with the noxious odor of dead fish. Ew! Suddenly, all I want to do is rush over to the fruit section, grab my goodies and go. As the nausea subsides, I may take a gander down the cookies and chips section only to hurriedly run to the counter after seeing the dried shrimp and dried fishy chips. · Sep 21 at 11:35am
Ah, buying fish, now there's a set of tales -- always buy from the fishermen direct. Can always tell if fish is fresh from eyes. In Africa, would go down to the harbor at 5:30 p.m. as boats came in (sundown 6 p.m. everyday), pick out the fish or shrimp to cook for the meal, take it to the beach club and have it grilled and served. For fish stews, would have them put in the pot and then eat the next day. Never any fishy smell.
Edited on September 21, 2011 at 9:01pmAug '10
Re: Won't Shop, You Can't Make Me
Speaking of stories about food that are supposed to be horrifying but really aren't, there was a Cracked.com article today on the topic.
One of the article's "horrifying lies" is that much of the food on store shelves contains cellulose as a cheap alternative to flour and/or other ingredients. Cellulose is derived from wood pulp.
The article tries to demonize it by saying it's "completely indigestible by human beings, and it has no nutritional value to speak of." However, the semi-educated mind should recognize that as one definition of dietary fiber.
The article goes on to try to paint as "horrifying" the fact that cellulose isn't regulated by the FDA (because it's non-toxic and edible).
Also, it's even an ingredient in organic foods!! (Wood is organic, duh!) Again, this is supposed to be "horrifying" to the reader.
This is just another example of an article that's supposed to be "horrifying" that instead is simply fascinating. It simply makes me more impressed by the modern food industry.
Similarly, when I read Fast Food Nation, I repeatedly thought to myself, "cool, so that's how they do it!"
Oct '10
Re: Won't Shop, You Can't Make Me
Now, do the folks selling these Pantone colour optimised bananas tell you how radioactive they are?
Jul '10
Re: Won't Shop, You Can't Make Me
Remember when a tomato had a very thin skin, and was bright red to the core, and juicy (except, of course, Romas). Upon slicing them, you could smell them in the next room. Ah, fresh garlic, olive oil, fresh basil, and s/p. Maybe even mozzarella. What a treat.
Today's tomatoes were bred to withstand an impact of 30 mph, hence the thick skin. (I jest about the mph, but the thick skin is to protect them during transportation.) The sad thing is, even growing them yourself is risky; the tomato sets are usually the same varieties as are grown commercially -- and planting heirlooms doesn't seem to do it either. Used to grow the real things back in PA, but have never been able to grow (or even taste) a good tomato here in CA.
Sep '11
Re: Won't Shop, You Can't Make Me
In the seventies and eighties i was sr v p at SuperValu Stores a huge Wholesaler -retailer in Minneapolis.We invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in ripening rooms so that we could control the ripeness of the bananas to give the customers the kind of fruit they liked best.We spent as needed to train our people how to assure the temperature control which is a little complicated because of the xcess heat given off by ripening bananas.We inspected them every day ( a three day process) and provided the retailers any of five different ripeness degrees (colors)that his customer wanted, and if we were off the retailers shipped them back because the customer would not buy them.We sold over one million pounds per day even then and took great pride in being able to hit the color( ripeness) that the customer wanted. Here I thought that the customers were manipulating us by the not so subtle means of refusing to buy something if they did not want it, and all the time it appears we were the manipulators, although how we did it is still a mystery even after reading this brilliant authors theories.