LOS ANGELES – AgroAmerica, one of the World’s leading agricultural food companies, announced today the launch of its latest venture: ONE. The Better Banana Company. ONE BANANA is expected to be available in major retailers across the United States, Canada, and Europe beginning November 2014.
The ONE BANANA brand is new, but AgroAmerica is a familiar presence in the American market. The company has sold its Guatemalan and Ecuadorian grown fruits in the United States and Europe for 40 years. Currently, AgroAmerica grown bananas account for 22 million boxes annually.
ONE BANANA is now the only family-owned, vertically-integrated — from farm-to-store — banana company doing business in the United States. For the first time, the brand consumers see on their bananas will be the same company that farmed those bananas, transported them to retailers, and marketed them to consumers. ONE BANANA is meeting the needs of the growing consumer preference for food that is produced, packaged, and distributed in a manner that is natural, holistic, and transparent.
ONE BANANA also reflects AgroAmerica’s commitment to sustainable farming as well as the company’s uncompromising commitment to quality and its approach to processing and packaging. The result of their industry-leading standards is not only great tasting bananas but also bananas that are of consistently better quality.
The ONE BANANA ethos extends beyond its exceptional products. The brand is equally dedicated to environmental conservation as it is to improving the quality of life of all of its workers and communities. Among its many accolades, ONE BANANA is the only banana company in the World to receive all three of the following – Rain Forest Alliance Certification, Global G.A.P. Certification, and BASC Certification. In recent years, the Company’s banana production operations have achieved a 26 percent reduction in water usage, 66 percent reduction in plastic consumption, and capture 33,000 MT of carbon dioxide annually. Further, all ONE BANANA farm workers are paid a living wage, have complete access to on-site medical services, and their children are encouraged to attend company-funded schools.
“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.”
For more information about ONE, please visit our web page and for more information on AgroAmerica, click here.
ABOUT AGROAMERICA
Founded in 1958 AgroAmerica has grown into a multinational company that employs 12,000 people and produces 22 million boxes of bananas each year. The family-owned company, which has operations in the United States, Guatemala, Ecuador, Costa Rica and Panama, also distributes pineapples and processes vegetable oils. AgroAmerica has emerged as a leader in socially responsible and environmentally sustainable farming. The company has implemented rigorously developed workplace safety standards, the latest water conservation and rainwater collection technologies and industry-leading worker benefits. Its charitable endeavors have benefited more than 19,000 people, across four rural communities in Guatemala, by among other things providing access to medical clinics, nutritional programs, and daycare facilities.
Source: AgroAmerica
