InSinkErator’s faux French fine dining experience is latest April Fools stunt

As part of this year’s April Fools fun, InSinkErator created a campaign around a fictional restaurant designed to turn food waste into fine dining. The aptly named ‘La Poubelle’ was to be London’s latest zero waste restaurant, or so it seemed when social media teasers and email activity began causing a stir in late-March. It was suggested that this spring the brand would be switching up its focus, setting out to redefine fine dining by transforming would-be food waste into culinary art. In Shoreditch, ‘La Poubelle’ would mark a very different, new direction for the company.

 

At the heart of the April Fools campaign was the desire to get the general public thinking about its food waste. Every year, the UK throws away 9.52million tonnes of food, with 70% of this waste coming from households, 16% from manufacturers, 12% from hospitality and food service businesses, and 2% from the retail sector. A fictional, carefully crafted tasting menu, ‘Food Waste, Reimagined’, was teased online, combining classic French culinary techniques with modern influences and a no food waste philosophy.

 

The ‘La Poubelle’ concept focused on ingredients that might otherwise be discarded and could, in theory, be transformed into refined, unexpected delicacies, challenging the perceptions of what belongs on a plate. Guests were invited to register their interest and experience food waste as they’ve never seen it before for £149 per person via a cleverly designed web page.

 

The tongue-in-cheek campaign generated 7,000-plus website page views, 546,000 Instagram views and over 2,000 engagements. The story has also been covered within national and lifestyle media titles, with an estimated 475k article views and an audience size of 103million.

 

Anne Kaarlela, marketing communications & customer service manager Europe, InSinkErator, commented: “Today we can reveal that ‘La Poubelle’ was an April Fools initiative designed to get people thinking about their food waste. We know that major changes to recycling regulations across England this year have meant that the topic has become a bigger talking point and we wanted to use April Fools’ Day as a method to get creative and cause more of a stir, raising further awareness and starting more conversations... “Although we won’t be putting on our chef’s hat, those who showed their interest will have chance to win a £250 dining gift card at Plates Shoreditch, a sustainable restaurant that is very much real, to say sorry for getting your hopes up! The giveaway can be entered via InSinkErator’s socials (@insinkerator_uk) for a chance to win.”