These clever colour gradient food stickers are super innovative

Apparently, we chuck out a ridiculous amount of usable fruit and veg because we think it may be past its best. Sometimes it is too far gone to eat, but often the food is still perfectly usable. These clever colour gradient stickers aim to help avoid that and save lives (the lives of fruit and veg, that is).

They look like a colour wheel, but the 'lifesaver' stickers have nothing to do with selecting a colour palette for design work (see our ultimate guide to colour theory for that). In this case, the colours match the various hues that each fruit or vegetable goes through as it ripens.

The stickers are for a range of produce, from tomatoes and avocados to papayas. Text labels indicate what the product could be used for depending on where its colour falls on the scale.

If you're banana's brown, you might normally think it's time to chuck it out, but not so fast. It's still usable for baking (the sticker suggests cupcakes). Similarly, when you've got a green banana that's taking a long time to ripen, the sticker reminds you that you could always fry it. The idea is to remind you that there's almost always some way to use the produce.

The 'lifesaver stickers' were created by Grey Colombia for the Cumará Makro cash and carry store in Bogatá in a bid to reduce food waste. They've just won recognition at this year's Cannes Lions awards and might just deserve a place in our pick of the best packaging design.