Are Carrots That Special? No They're Not

Companies, specifically Bolthouse Farms are trying to conjure a way of making carrots more appealing to consumers. In an article titled, "How Carrots Became The New Junk Food" it decribes the pitfalls and successes of the carrot business. In the article, CEO of Bolthouse Farms, Jeff Dunn, wanted to improve the image of carrots. Back in the nineties, carrots looked exactly like the carrots the Bugs Bunny would happily consume. In grocery stores, the large  orange spear with the green top just simply does not appeal to buyers. Obviously, no one wanted to purchase a carrot that looked dry and inedible. After some failed experiments, companies began to sell baby carrots, the smaller and more attractive version of the healthy vegetable. The sales began to skyrocket until a few years ago. Now, Bolthouse Farms are in a dilemma on how to boost the sales of carrots once again.

To be honest, carrots are not the first choice a twelve year old is going to pick when they are at the grocery store. They are more likely to crave junk food like Cheetos, Doritos and other sugary sweets. In reality, everyone wants to choose the tasteful suggestion, not the healthier one.  Former Coca-Cola Executive, Jeff Dunn, had the opprotunity to make something boring into something fantastic. Without a doubt, he took the approach of making it appear more like junk food. He decided to make carrots more attractive, eye catching, and simply fun. It was the key to selling more carrots. The packaging became more vibrant and appealing. Marketing strategies became more around how eating carrots is fun, rather than healthy. The approach was to make carrots more of a voluntary choice rather than something consumers should do.  In the end, the carrot market has improved because society is willing to buy something that is colorful and merrymaking.

In my opinion, I am more likely to buy something that stimulates my brain. I love to look at colorful snack foods at the grocery store. So, I am most definitely one of the gullible consumers who would purchase carrots simply for the packaging. Overall, the people behind this operation are very smart on how to sell their product.