Cool Bananas! Plett Shop Offers Free Fruit for Kids

Plettenberg Bay in South Africa has always been the cool place to hang out. And it just got even cooler. A local supermarket has launched a healthy – and generous – campaign for parents with children!

On Saturday shoppers at Beacon Isle Kwikspar in Plett were (pleasantly) surprised to discover a sign in the fresh produce aisle that encouraged them to take a piece of fruit for their children! Gratis.

The sign says: “Hi Parents. Please feel free to take a piece of fruit on us for your children to eat whilst you shop. We would like to encourage healthy eating and make your shopping trip a bit easier. Enjoy your day and thank you for shopping at Beacon Isle Kwikspar.”

Kwikspar’s Duncan Brown told SAPeople he was inspired to launch the campaign after seeing a similar initiative being trialled by Tesco in the United Kingdom.

“I saw that Tesco did this and thought it was a great idea so implemented it on Saturday. So far it has been very well received and I expect it to get even better,” he said. “We have a brand new revamped Kwikspar in Plett and pride ourselves in creating many points of difference throughout the store and this is just one of those. Obviously the health angle is something we like to promote as well.”

Several Tesco stores in the UK are undergoing a trial of offering free fruit after it proved popular at their Lincolnshire outlet, saying they hope it will “instil some healthy eating habits” and make shopping less of a challenge for parents “with hungry children in tow”.

The Woolworths supermarket chain in Australia (different to South African Woolies) has implemented a similar scheme in more than 900 stores nationwide.

It’ll be fantastic if other South African supermarkets catch on too!