Lidl has recently launched a new and unusual advertising campaign that focuses on fruit and vegetables. The campaign, which is described as an investment in higher quality, has been met with sharp criticism – and mockery. The background to the controversy is Lidl’s collaboration with the Royal Philharmonic, where the company claims that classical music was played for the crops during their growth. According to Lidl, there is research that suggests that music can promote plant growth and quality.
The products, which are now sold in Lidl stores under the “Matriket” brand, are marked with a blue note to signal their “musical” upbringing.
– Through the collaboration with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and our Swedish growers, we hope to raise the already high quality. It’s incredibly fun to be able to offer philharmonic fruits and vegetables from our own brand Matriket,” said Robert Stekovicpurchasing and marketing director at Lidl Sweden, in an advertisement on DN in connection with the campaign.
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“Pure nonsense”
Despite Lidl’s enthusiasm, the campaign has not been to everyone’s taste. Jens Sundströmdocent in plant physiology at the Swedish University of Agriculture in Uppsala, is one of the most prominent critics. He has in the agricultural magazine ATL expressed his strong disapproval, calling the whole idea “pure nonsense”.
“To sum it up briefly: this is nonsense. Pure nonsense,” Sundström wrote in a longer debate article in ATLand accused Lidl of supporting pseudoscience.
According to him, it is indeed true that plants can react to sound waves, but to claim that a particular type of music – in this case classical violin music – would have a greater effect than other sounds is a step too far.
“The problem arises when you simultaneously refer to studies that load the response with cultural attributes and it begins to appear that the plants prefer violin music to other music,” wrote Sundström.
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“Can be experienced as fuzzy”
In the spring of 2024, Lidl Sweden commissioned the state research institute RISE to investigate what the research says about how music affects plants.
Jens Sundström, believes that Lidl and RISE’s conclusions have gone too far and are moving into the territory of pseudoscience. He points out that there is a lack of credible evidence that a particular genre of music would have a significant impact on plant growth or taste, making the campaign appear more of a marketing ploy than anything else.
But Lidl cites research that supports the idea that music can affect seedling growth. According to the RISE researcher Tora Råberg is there support for the hypothesis that different species of plants can react to music or sound. She has entered the debate herself and writes a debate article on ATL:
“That sound waves affect plants has been measured, but the response is different depending on the frequency, amplitude and growth stage. Music is a mixture of frequencies that can be played at different amplitudes. It can be experienced as fuzzy, romantic or pseudoscientific – but it remains that scientists have measured effects of sound waves on cultivated plants.”
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Lidl responds: “Subjective assessment”
In the midst of the harsh criticism has Marita Wengelincommunications and CSR manager at Lidl, himself took the floor in the debate to defend the campaign:
“Now that we have allowed several of our Swedish fruits and vegetables to grow to the tunes of the Royal Philharmonic, it is to explore whether this can affect their taste and quality,” she emphasized, in a debate article in ATL.
She further emphasized that it is up to the customers to decide whether the fruits and vegetables really taste better.
“The grower speaking in the ad thinks the vegetables taste better, but that’s a subjective assessment,” Wengelin explained, stressing that Lidl themselves do not claim otherwise.
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