MEDELLIN, COLOMBIA – La Dona Fruit – a leading producer and exporter of fresh golden pineapples and tropical fruits in Latin America – announces the launch of a vibrant brand for its high quality, sustainably sourced avocados and limes destined for Europe and the USA.
At a time when the world needs some cheer, the new ‘True Origins by La Dona’ brand features multi-coloured Pre-Columbian symbols that reflect the colour, light, and music of the indigenous Andes culture and tropical environment of Colombia and Peru where La Dona’s Hass avocados and Tahiti limes are grown almost year round using an artisan-style approach.
From September 2020, the striking new design will be printed onto La Dona’s 4.5 kilogramme (kg) corrugated cardboard boxes for export to Europe, as well as its 18kg (40lb) boxes for the USA. The brand aims to catch the eye of retailers and wholesalers throughout Europe, especially in the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Switzerland, plus the USA.
Oscar Baracaldo, La Dona Fruit’s Head of Customer Experience, explains: “The world needs a little more colour right now, and we want customers interacting with our brand to see something on the brighter side. True Origins by La Dona is a more dynamic design that epitomises the colour and light of the Andean culture, particularly the power of the sun from the Pre-Columbian era.”
La Dona takes an artisanal approach to fruit production, and the True Origins brand serves to illustrate those traditional characteristics.
Baracaldo continues: “We continue to develop our farms and grower relationships to deliver the best that The Andes region has to offer. By marrying ancient, local techniques together with up-to-date crop management practices, we can produce the rich and complex flavours that are found in La Dona’s fruit grown at different altitudes across The Andes.”
The bright new branding marks a stark contrast to the previous black opaque design used for La Dona’s Hass avocados from Colombia and Peru, and Tahiti limes from Colombia. In the future, the brand may be expanded for other fruit exports within La Dona’s basket.
Baracaldo comments: “We became tired of the previous black box, especially during this pandemic. Our attractive True Origins by La Dona campaign brings into our lives some much-needed colour, sunshine, and music from the Tropics at this strange time.”
La Dona has exported Colombian Tahiti limes to Europe since November 2019, and is just starting exports to the USA, having recently begun shipments of Colombian and Peruvian Hass avocados to Europe.
The company exports almost year round, and is approaching its peak supply period for limes. This coincides with a gap on the European market during autumn/fall, and a gap on the US market beyond November and December.
La Dona expects to supply 2,100 tonnes of limes by the end of this year.
ABOUT LA DONA FRUIT
La Dona Fruit is a leading producer and exporter of fresh golden pineapples and tropical fruits in Latin America, bringing customers great taste, quality and superior produce. Founded in 1977 by Edna Vergara, La Dona Fruit has grown from a one-acre family farm in the coastal lowlands of Panama to a thriving export business; having partnered with Colombia-headquartered agribusiness management firm Farmfolio in 2018.
ABOUT OUR FRUIT
La Dona Fruit’s mission is to provide the world with the freshest, highest quality tropical fruits on the market all year round. The quality of our products is characterised by decades of tradition, first instilled by our founder Edna Vergara almost 50 years ago.
Pineapples: Our special MD2 variety of golden pineapple is outstandingly sweet and juicy thanks to the optimum ratio of rainfall to sunlight on our farm in La Chorrera, Panama. Our flagship product benefits from a unique combination of family heritage, sustainable practices, and unbeatable quality. Pineapples are loaded with nutrients, like vitamins C and B, and fibre. They can boost immunity, provide antioxidant benefits, and may aid digestion.
Avocados: Colombia is the perfect place to grow avocados thanks to its gentle climate, and the fertile, sun-kissed soils make our Hass avocados particularly special. Avocados are one of the world’s most-recognised superfoods. They are versatile, delicious, and rich in nutrients like potassium, fibre, vitamins E and K, plus good fats. Avocados grown at higher altitudes of The Andes show the highest percentage of Oleic acid, which has shown to improve heart health, and help to prevent heart disease and other related heart conditions.
Limes: We are fast becoming the largest exporter of limes from Colombia. The ample sunlight and nutrient-rich soils at different altitudes enable our growers to produce larger, juicier, and more flavourful Tahiti limes all year round. Tahiti limes are a powerhouse of flavour and nutrition. They provide an excellent source of vitamins C and B, folic acid, and potassium.
