Supermarkets & Toy Stores Welcome Ugly Fruit

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“Ugly fruit” is the latest foodie trend but how ugly is TOO ugly? Takara-Tomy’s Fruit Zombie toys answer that question without straining anyone’s braiiiins. fruit_zombies_1

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French supermarket Intermarché now offers “inglorious” fruit while British retailer ASDA is flogging “wonky” vegetables. Loblaws, Canada’s largest supermarket chain, is rolling out “naturally imperfect” produce. There’s no doubt the Ugly Food Movement is winning friends and claiming converts around the globe, and trust Japan to not be left off the bandwagon.

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As is often the case, however, Japanese trend-makers are approaching the Ugly Fruit theme from an unexpected angle. While you can’t eat Fruit Zombies – no matter that it sounds like the Breakfast Cereal From Hell – you’d better bet they’ll last a lot longer than any old misshapen produce.

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Fruit Zombies are one of toymaker Takara-Tomy’s more successful lines – so much so that the company just released six more undead inedibles to complement the first series consisting of Ichigo (strawberry), Sakuranbo (cherries), Banana, Nashi (pear), Budou (grapes), and Painappuru (pineapple).