Coop’s supermarket chains, including Extra and Obs, expect to sell 75,000 Norwegian pumpkins on the spooky weekend of the year. ‘But take care of the good filling,’ encouraged the Extra boss.
Last year, Coop’s grocery chains sold 52,000 pumpkins at Halloween, surpassing their own target of 50,000. This year, a further increase in sales is expected, taking it to 75,000 Norwegian-produced pumpkins, equivalent to 350 tonnes.
‘More and more peopler are decorating the neighbourhood with pumpkins, and many customers also make other creepy Halloween decorations. Therefore, we expect that last year’s sales record will be broken by a large margin,’ said Christian Hoel, chain director of Extra supermarkets.
It is especially families with small children who buy pumpkins and Halloween decorations. In addition to letting the children assist in the carving of the pumpkin, Hoel encourages helping the kids to cooking with the pumpkin’s filing.
‘The food is a wonderful raw material, and can be used for everything from soups, salads, pies and cakes.
We all have a responsibility to contribute to the least possible waste in our eating habits, and teach the children that we must avoid throwing food away,’ said Hoel, somewhat sanctimoniously, and without irony, which is itself a paradox, considering that Halloween is a celebration of the undead, evil spirits and ghosts and witches of every shape and description, none of which entities have historically shown a great deal of goodwill toward children in particular.
Source: Coop Norge / Norway Today
