Brace Yourself, There Will be Disney-Branded Fruits and Vegetables Soon

It’s 2016, and some parents are still struggling with feeding their kids the right nutrition through vegetables and fruits. This problem isn’t something out of the ordinary. In fact, it’s a daily occurrence for some parents. Just a tiny hint of vegetable in your child’s dish may cause him or her to sulk the whole day or throw a long, ‘deadly’ tantrum. Which is why some parents had to be extra smart by crushing them to small bits and secretly slipping them into their meals.

Another alternative solution? Well, Dole Food Co. just recently announced a partnership with entertainment giant, Disney, to help market fresh produce to children across America. Characters from the movie franchise Star Wars, Pixar, and Marvel will be chosen to help sell the likes of bananas, broccolis, and blueberries.

It is unclear what are the exact terms of the deal, and whether the products will be marketed higher that non-branded fruits and vegetables, but it will all be answered once it hits stores next month.

However, this isn’t the first time Disney has been involved in branded produce. Last year, they partnered up with Sage Fruit Co. for a campaign to promote Star Wars: The Force Awakens. There were Darth Vader apples and Yoda grapes.

It seems that we have come to a point where we need the help of fictional characters to help convince our children to eat their greens and fruits. According to Los Angeles branding expert, Rob Frankel, "It's not difficult to slap a character on a food and get kids to love it.”

We wonder whether these products will only have the characters featured on its packaging or if there will also be a special name for each product. Maybe Disney and Dole should consider giving them catchy names like Anna Apples, Elsa Eggplants, Dory Dates, Captain America Cabbages, and Thor Tomatoes. Or another suggestion would be to develop a packaging that plays the voice of a Disney/Marvel/Star Wars character every time a package is opened. Try envisioning Elsa’s voice singing, “The kale never bothered me anyway.” Now that will get everyone lining up to buy their products (us included).

No word whether such products will be marketed in Malaysia. But if it happens one day, we hope our local producers will team up with giant grocers to produce branded vegetables and fruits as well. Imagine seeing “Keluang Man Kangkung”, “Cicak Man Carrot” or “Boboiboy Bayam” in the grocery stores. Now wouldn’t that be hilarious!