Sales of Unsorted Apples at MUJI Stores
From Friday, December 18, 2020, MUJI started selling unsorted apples, the production processes of which have been reviewed, at 80 MUJI stores across Japan.
MUJI aims to contribute to the daily lives of people around the world through its products and services that are friendly to consumers and producers. Among the three most basic area of human needs (clothing, food, and housing), food is perhaps the most critical, essential part of life. Up till now, we have been conveying the thoughts and ideas of producers by selling fresh vegetables and fruits, which are indispensable for daily dining.
Last season, we partnered with Narita Farm in Hirosaki City, Aomori Prefecture to sell apples that fell short of the regular standard due to misalignment, unevenness in color and scratches & stains at 30 stores across Japan. These apples were well received by many customers. This year, we will continue to work with the farm to sell unsorted apples, whose production processes have been reviewed. To be specific, we have reviewed the following processes: 1) the process of creating red colors (e.g., using a reflective sheet, rotating the fruit or picking leaves to expose the fruit to sunlight); 2) sorting apples by appearance (screening for scratches and unevenness in color); and 3) sorting apples by size (reducing from seven stages to three stages – large, medium, and small). In Japan, where the agricultural population is shrinking and the population is aging, we wanted to continue to produce delicious agricultural products. To this end, we exchanged ideas with each other and worked together to reduce the work that had been taken for granted. We will sell all of the harvested apples, no matter whether they meet the regular standard in size & color or not. The total amount will be three times that of the previous year, and the number of stores that people can purchase these apples will be expanded from 30 (last year) to 80. Please do try these delicious apples when you visit the MUJI stores.
