Disney ditches Happy Meals and develops a taste for fresh fruit
Following on from the decision by Disney not to renew a global branding contract with McDonalds for their Happy Meals, the animation giant is now set to switch its focus to healthier foods such as fruit and vegetables.
Shoppers at Tesco in Britain can already avail of Disney satsumas, with the skin of the fruit featuring Disney stickers of popular characters such as Winnie the Pooh, which can then be transferred to sticker books.
A similar branding exercise is planned with bananas and apples, while in continental Europe, Disney is already involved in the licensing of its brand of tomatoes in some French supermarkets and mini-bananas in German retailers such as the Metro chain.
Further plans are afoot to develop new healthy food products bearing the Disney logo, with a range of stone fruit items to be launched in America this month.
In all, Disney has launched 300 new food products in Europe over the past year, ranging from pastas to pizza.
As for fruit, contracts are made with marketing companies that deal with fruit buyers and retail chains and who then pay royalties to Disney for use of its brand.
The push towards healthier produce bearing the Disney name comes after the company decided against renewing its contract with McDonalds, which runs out later this year.
Disney Consumer Products chairman Andy Mooney said the company was trying to develop food ranges for children under the banner ‘better for you’.
Shoppers here keen on the idea of Disney fruit may have to wait a while, however.
A spokesperson for Tesco Ireland said it was too early to say whether or not the products would be introduced here.
“At the moment it is very much a British initiative,” the spokesperson said.
“It is too early for us to comment on whether or not we would introduce something similar here, but we would never say never.”
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