Costa Group turned heads in supermarkets' fruit aisles during Easter with a playful and innovative campaign – avocados featuring laser etched Easter characters on their skin.
The trial, which ran in 20 selected Woolworths stores across Victoria, was part of Costa’s broader commitment to sustainability and consumer engagement.
In collaboration with ‘The Packaging Hippie’ Gilad Sadan and Result Group, this first-of-its-kind initiative introduced Australian shoppers to ‘Packaging Without Packaging’ – replacing traditional stickers with EcoMark Natural Branding, a clean, ink free, and food safe laser labelling technology.
Traditional fruit stickers are neither recyclable nor compostable, and even compostable versions are sitting on siliconised backing paper, which in nearly every case ends up in landfill as waste.
The laser alternative offers a natural, ink-free solution, gently removing a thin layer of pigment from the skin to leave a visible, food-safe mark without affecting the fruit’s freshness, taste or shelf-life.
“This campaign is all about bringing innovation to life in a way that consumers can see, touch and enjoy,” said Michael Dossor, group general manager at Result Group.
“We’re proud to support Costa in showcasing what’s possible when you rethink how produce is labelled. It’s engaging, educational, and a real step toward more sustainable practices.”
The trial ran throughout April, and consumers were invited to share their thoughts by scanning a point-of-sale QR code.
If feedback is positive, Costa plans to move toward integrating entirely laser-etched 2D Datamatrix or QR codes into the skin marking – supporting GS1 standards and offering end-to-end traceability and transparency from farm to consumer.
