In many supermarkets throughout Europe, it has become common practice in the fruit and vegetable
department to offer options in plastic packaging. Recent trends, however, move towards the removal of
packaging. The current study examines whether offering fruit and vegetables without primary packaging
increases the likelihood that consumers choose these products. This is especially relevant for organic fruit
and vegetables, given that plastic may be perceived as contrary to the sustainable nature of these products.
A first experiment, using a student sample and an immersive 3D virtual supermarket environment, shows
that choice for organic fruit and vegetables indeed increases when organics are offered without packaging.
A second experiment with the virtual supermarket generalizes these findings to a sample of supermarket
patrons, additionally showing that unpacked fruit and vegetables are preferred over packed options
overall, both for organic and non-organic products. We conclude that removing the primary packaging
of organic fruit and vegetables appears to be a promising intervention in attempts to increase organic
sales.