Mini Carrots Beginning: Another marketing scam?

has changed from the most unpopular side dish on the table to a "ginseng fruit" food, which is 20 times more expensive than ordinary carrots. The evolutionary history of the "net celebrity" of Mini Carrot, is it a "scam", a "hype", or a "rumor"?

Cute...

Healthy Snack

Baby-cut Carrot

Statistics show that 1 out of every 4 North Americans buy fruit carrots, which is already a healthy eating lifestyle integrated into the ordinary people in the United States and Canada.

In the United States, more than 172 million tons of carrots are processed into peeled mini carrots. Today, mini carrots have occupied the largest share in the carrot industry, with sales accounting for more than 80%.

from Hollywood diets, healthy meals popular on campus, white-collar healthy snacks and common people’s refrigerators.

01 An ordinary mini-carrot, why is it so successful?

Baby-cut carrot (Baby-cut carrot) 's great success, first of all thanks to a person- Mike Yurosek (Mike Yurosek), which is the father of the mini carrot .

In the 1980s, only carrots whose size, shape and color met supermarket standards could be put on the shelves. Otherwise, they can only be squeezed, fed to livestock, or even discarded.

Under such strict standards, Yerosek has to discard up to 400 tons of carrots every day.

Finally, he tried to peel and cut the rough and ugly carrots, and then divided them into a batch of samples to show to buyers.

As a result, the 5cm-long mini carrots were very popular and changed the entire industry.

In 2010, manufacturers launched a large-scale marketing campaign. Through the concept of " eat mini carrots like junk food" was used to attract children to eat carrots and achieved great success.

is like eating junk food. Eat

. At the same time, they also changed the packaging of carrots to be almost the same as junk food, and put them in school vending machines, you can't even notice the difference.

"mini carrots" are not only loved by bear children, but also become open snacks for many stars, fashion bloggers and slimming people.

Lady Gaga is enjoying her mini carrots

02 20 times more expensive than ordinary carrots. Are mini carrots worth it?

Although the processed mini carrots are small in appearance, consistent in shape, good in taste, convenient to eat, and easier to accept.

But unfortunately, mini carrots are actually crude processed products.

Next, let’s take a look at the three aspects of ’s production process, price, and taste. Are mini carrots worth it?

1) Process

Usually, mini carrots are made of "imperial" carrots originating in California, USA. After cleaning, cutting, and grinding, they are made into carrot segments with a length of about 5cm. The whole process does not require sophisticated technology. carry out. The production principle of

is similar to that of fruit cuts in the supermarket, except that the shelf life of carrots is longer and can be kept on the shelf for half a month.

Then, according to the different thickness, sold to different groups of people. The thicker head is positioned for adult snacks, while the thinner middle and tail are positioned for children's snacks.

2) price

The price of imported mini carrots from the United States is about 30 yuan per pack (340g), is about 44 yuan/jin , and the price of ordinary fruit carrots is about 2-3 yuan/jin

compared to fruit carrots, mini carrots The premium is up to 22 times ! Much higher than the premium of juice!

3) Taste and taste

If it is also eaten raw, the taste of mini carrots up to 44 yuan/jin will be slightly better, and a bit less astringent.

But when you peel 3 yuan a pound of ordinary carrots , you will find an amazing fact: 3 carrots and 40 yuan carrots have almost the same texture and taste! The only difference with

may be that you can’t walk into the cinema with a big carrot and peel it while eating.

03 Mini carrots cause cancer?

There are many rumors about mini carrots-"Mini carrots will be soaked in a carcinogenic chlorine solution to process , and after a few days in the refrigerator, a white covering will appear on the surface of , which is chlorine. Reappearance.”

However, the rumor of is not the whole truth .

Yes, the mini carrots are cleaned in chlorine and aqueous solution before packaging. But this is a common processing method for ready-to-eat fresh vegetable products, such as bagged salad .

Regarding the question of whether chlorine can cause cancer, here is a popular science: chlorine is a three-category carcinogen, but there is not enough information to determine whether the substance is a human carcinogen.

And, under normal circumstances, the chlorine content of the rinse solution and tap water can be comparable.

mini carrot production line

"These are not harmful to your health. The whole purpose of washing vegetables with chlorinated water is to protect consumers' health by reducing the bacteria that may cause foodborne diseases by .

and "white coverage" ”(Sometimes appearing on the surface of carrots) is a harmless discoloration caused by moisture loss and/or wear during storage. It has nothing to do with chlorine and does not affect the taste or nutritional value of carrots. ”-Joe Shi Dr. Watts, Professor of Chemistry at McGill University

However, bagged mini carrots still have a short shelf life.

Sometimes we find that carrots become sticky soon after being stored in the refrigerator. Mini carrots without rind are more prone to spoilage.

Most carrots are stored and processed under near-freezing conditions. Once they leave the packaging factory, their temperature will rise, which will promote the growth of bacteria. And in many cases, the storage conditions in the supermarket are not ideal.

If you find that the carrot is sticky, whether it is a mini carrot or a regular one, please throw it away immediately.

04 Carrots do not enhance eyesight

Another healthy truth about carrots is that it does not help you enhance eyesight. The source of this misunderstanding can be traced back to World War II.

During World War II, in order to prevent night attacks by the Germans, the British government cut out power across the country and developed a secret radar technology to help the Royal Air Force (RAF) monitor enemy forces at night.

However, in order to conceal this fact, the government began to spread false news all over the world- "The British army uses a lot of carrots to increase the night vision of pilots."

This propaganda campaign includes stories about certain pilots, such as John. Lieutenant Cunningham "Cat's Eye", they said they have excellent night vision because of the habit of eating a lot of carrots.

In the end, this lie succeeded in spawning many rumors, and it also caused the British to compete for freedom.Grow carrots and eat carrots in the yard.

Of course, there are special cases, that is, there is malnutrition, eating carrots may improve your vision.

Specifically, when the intake of vitamin A is insufficient, eating carrots (because the human body will convert β-carotene into vitamin A as needed) can improve eyesight and night vision.

All in all, carrots have no magical effects, and mini carrots have no terrifying health hazards.

If you are looking for cost-effectiveness, it is recommended to buy ordinary carrots, peel and cut them by yourself. If you pursue fashion, please don't hesitate.

「Reference Materials」

[1]http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2012/02/if-you-eat-an-excessive-amount-of-carrots-your-skin-will-turn -an-orangishyellow-shade/

[2]https://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/the-truth-behind-baby-carrots

[3]http://www.carrotmuseum.co.uk/babycarrot .htmlfull

[4]https://www.liveabout.com/baby-carrots-and-chlorine-3299302

[5]https://www.thekitchn.com/where-do-baby-carrots-come-from-a -field-to-table-baby-carrot-harvest-with-grimmway-farms-180386

[6]https://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/the-truth-behind-baby-carrots