MIAMI, FL – AgroAmerica has launched its latest venture: ONE. The Better Banana Company. ONE BANANA is available in major retailers across the United States, Canada and Europe starting this month. José Galvez, Vice President of AgroFruit, spoke to AndNowUKnow about this new brand and how it came about.
AgroAmerica started with a small banana plantation in 1958, and by 1978, the company was working solely with bananas and developing partnerships with companies like Fyffes, Dole, Del Monte, Chiquita and others.
“Up to date, we are still packing for most of them. For the past 10 years AgroAmerica started working on building strong partnerships directly with retailers in USA, and since then has grown to other markets like Canada, Europe and Asia,” Galvez tells me.
The company started selling bananas directly to retailers packaged under the label Wattafruit! as well as customer private labels, making its way up to this new brand.
“Each day the market is more aware of quality and wants to know in what circumstances the fruit is produced. ONE fulfills the expectations that consumers demand and is at the forefront in these areas: high standard and consistent quality, cultivated by a company with good social and environmental practices,” Galvez added.
The company has sold its Guatemalan and Ecuadorian grown fruits in the U.S. and Europe for 40 years, and currently, AgroAmerica grown bananas account for 22 million boxes annually.
According to the company, ONE BANANA is currently the only family-owned, vertically-integrated, from farm-to-store, banana company doing business in the United States where consumers will be able to see bananas branded with the same company that farmed them, transported them to retailers and marketed them.
“Since our company’s founding we have been committed to producing top quality products, farming sustainably and fostering an environment that values workers’ welfare,” says Fernando Bolaños Valle, CEO of AgroAmerica. “With the launch of ONE BANANA, we hope to offer North American and European consumers the first truly transparent, great-tasting, and socially conscious banana alternative. Today, it may be ONE BANANA, but ONE small change can make a difference tomorrow.”
The company is currently focused on conventional and organic bananas and plans to grow with the market demand in North America, Europe, the Mediterranean and Asia.
