Australians aren’t eating enough pineapples.
Despite our population growing, sales of fresh pineapples are not.
Why?
“Growers fear the time it takes to cut up a piece of fruit and clean the mess off the chopping board is behind flatlining sales as consumers shift towards a culture of convenience(1)”
According to grower John Zelenka, "The need for convenience and fast food, our industry hasn't adjusted to that change. We're still selling a product exactly the same way we were 25 years ago, but our consumers are changing."
Effort Vs Reward
A good place to start when we find customers are not doing what we want, is to consider both sides of my Effort Vs Reward behavioural equation:
B = R > E
In short, for Behaviour to happen, Reward has to be greater than Effort.
Most businesses focus on the reward side of the equation by discounting their products, running fancy marketing campaigns or adding new benefits. They try to convince customers that their product is worth trying.
The problem with a “rewards” focus is it relies on maintaining heightened motivation, which is a fool's errand.
The smarter thing to do is focus on reducing effort. Making your product easier to find, buy and consume will greatly improve the odds people will bother, and they don’t have to be hugely motivated to do so.
How sweet is that?
(1) https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2025-02-02/australian-pineapples-face-flatlining-sales-due-to-inconvenience/104870394
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