Art on Fruit

May 9, 2022 8:13 AM

Whimsical Monday: The Surprising Artistry of Fruit Stickers. "In the world of fruit stickers, according to Angood, citrus is one of the best canvases. Her favorites are the green stickers she finds often on tangerines while on vacation in Valencia, Spain, that resemble the fruit’s leaves. “It’s almost alluding to its natural state,” Angood says, adding that the stickers typically bear the grower’s name on the leaf. She finds these more memorable, almost because they take the unusual advertising tack of trying to blend in."

"Other stickers are arguably less artistic and certainly less subtle. Take the banana, in Angood’s experience the fruit most frequently anthropomorphized in advertising, including on stickers. Most ubiquitous is Dole’s human-banana mascot Bobby Banana—often spotted on stickers leading an active lifestyle that includes soccer or basketball. Del Monte takes a similar tack, with a similarly anthropomorphized banana that loves volleyball, cycling, and open mics. "

hattip to theprepared.org

posted by storybored (10 comments total)

What I want to know is how they put those stickers on all the fruit. Given that I have to take them off to throw the remains in the compost bin.
posted by njohnson23 at 8:51 AM on May 9, 2022 [1 favorite]

Reminds me somehow of the HORG, an organization that studies the taxonomy of the small primitive creatures that are found almost exclusively with their jaws clasped around bags of bread or produce.
posted by Rock Steady at 8:58 AM on May 9, 2022 [1 favorite]

njohnson23: The stickers are applied this way.
posted by jocelmeow at 9:01 AM on May 9, 2022 [2 favorites]

Related: most fruit stickers are not biodegradable.
posted by sleeping bear at 9:39 AM on May 9, 2022 [1 favorite]

I once purchased a case of oranges and a roll of stickers came in the box. I assume it was someone’s job at the market to apply them…or not.
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 10:00 AM on May 9, 2022 [2 favorites]

I also recall being shown some citrus which had been branded with a laser. Rather tidy & sharp looking. I’m guessing this never caught on…or Big Sticker shut it down.
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 10:02 AM on May 9, 2022 [1 favorite]

These are fun. "si vous avec de nez" is delightful. Someone should create a similar project about mascots on outer packaging.
posted by eotvos at 10:26 AM on May 9, 2022

why is it banabear & not bearnana
posted by taquito sunrise at 12:22 PM on May 9, 2022 [4 favorites]

It was only last year that I learned that the number code on say, the Granny Smith apples I buy, is the same throughout the US. Not that I ever gave it much thought beyond annoyed at having to scrape them off my counter after meal prep.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 1:14 PM on May 9, 2022

I remember the shock of seeing these "slice me on Cheerios" banana stickers in high school. I made t-shirts with a reproduction of the graphic. Just black ink on white, though in retrospect they would have been cooler with blue ink on yellow.
posted by St. Oops at 12:25 PM on May 12, 2022