Golden Wind Egg for misleading ‘vegetable candy’ by Nicolette van Dam

Her Yummy Veggie Candy from Let’s, as the product is officially called, has been chosen by the Dutch consumer as the most misleading product of 2021, an award from food watchdog foodwatch.

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According to foodwatch, the candies are misleading because they contain as much sugar as some other candies. “Vegetable sweets sound too good to be true, and they are,” says Nicole van Gemert, director of foodwatch. “If you want to use some vegetable juice concentrate in your products, fine. But this product has nothing to do with eating fruit and vegetables and can even be counterproductive. If you do give that appearance, it is not only a marketing ploy, but also misleading marketing. “

Foodwatch has now handed over the prize to a representative of Let’s. Nicolette van Dam herself only wanted to respond to the prize in writing and also posted a message on Instagram: “I won the Golden Wind Egg and of course that has never been our ambition with Let’s. I think it is very good that this prize exists and we are going Be sure to include feedback about communication.”

Earlier, Van Dam, initiator of the sweets, already announced that he did not agree with the nomination. “Because although foodwatch believes that using fruit and vegetables is a false marketing ploy on our part, we are convinced that fruit and vegetables are the most beautiful ingredients to make delicious products,” the presenter previously wrote in a response to foodwatch. “And that is not a marketing trick, but simply a fact for us.”

The Golden Wind Egg was awarded for the eleventh time this year. The other two nominees were ‘Poké Bowl with lots of vegetables’ from Knorr and ‘Recyclable prawn cracker bags’ from Conimex.

Previous winners include Coca-Cola Smartwater (2018), Jumbo cornbread, without cornmeal (2017) and Healthy People Bilberry and Raspberry (2016).