CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The world’s #1 banana brand is supporting National Banana Day on April 21 with a week’s worth of celebratory tactics aimed at motivating consumers to enjoy more bananas and retailers to stock more of the beloved yellow fruit.
Starting April 18 and continuing through April 24, Dole Food Company will implement an integrated marketing campaign consisting of banana-themed digital, social media, PR, blogger/influencer and in-store elements spotlighting the health, convenience and recipe benefits of America’s most-consumed fruit.
Some Dole retailers will commemorate the day with fun, produce manager display competitions that put bananas center stage, while others will utilize Dole-provided downloadable content to engage shoppers. This content includes a social media find-the-banana contest with prizes; a 7-Day Banana Activity Plan hosted by Dole’s Bobby Banana; consumer- and retailerfriendly info on the stages of banana ripening and the use of banana peels to make organic fertilizer; an assortment of favorite Dole banana recipes on www.dole.com; and digital thank-you cards for supermarket employees. To access all free assets, go to www.dole.com.
“As the producer of America’s favorite banana, we see National Banana Day as an opportunity to thank the tens of thousands of growers, packers, retailers, transportation specialists and others that have kept the fruit at the top of everyone’s shopping list,” said Bil Goldfield, Dole’s director of communications. “Given the past year, we knew we couldn’t accomplish all of that in just one day so we extended the festivities to a full week.”
Melanie Marcus, MA, RD, Dole nutrition and health communications manager, will honor bananas in the company’s popular Dole Nutrition News newsletter while the company’s shopper marketing team will work with Dole retailers to educate shoppers and provide at-retail support.
Dole is also circulating “DOLE® Bananas by the Numbers” information to retailers, bloggers and other influencers to demonstrate the sheer size and impact of North America’s love affair with bananas.
Dole Goes Big for National Banana Day 2021
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DOLE® Bananas by the Numbers
Useful Facts About the World’s #1 Banana Brand on National Banana Day
1 Rank of bananas among the most-purchased item in a supermarket
- DOLE®‘s most popular Banana varieties in the U.S. (Cavendish, Baby, Manzano,
Red, Burro, Plantain)
- Countries where DOLE® Bananas are grown (Columbia, Costa Rica, Ecuador,
Guatemala, Honduras, Peru and Mexico)
25 Percent of the Vitamin B6 daily value provided by one DOLE® Banana. B6 is crucial since it helps the body turn food into energy.
30 Dole banana or plantain recipes on www.dole.com that involve a blender
33 Percent ofDOLE® Bananas that arrive in North America via the Port of Wilmington, Del.
57 Years that Dole has been growing bananas (1964)
65 Dole banana or plantain recipes on www.dole.com that were specifically created to be enjoyed after breakfast (I.e., for lunch, dinner or even post-dinner cocktails)
84 Dole recipes on www.dole.com that call for a banana
100 Dole recipes on www.dole.com that call for a banana or plantain
110 Calories in a medium DOLE® Banana
126 Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars characters and related images that have appeared on a DOLE® Banana since 2016
Disney’s Moana (5) Captain Marvel (8)
Disney’s Beauty & the Beast (5) Disney and Pixar’s Incredibles 2 (5)
Disney and Pixar’s Cars 3 (5) Mickey’s 90th Anniversary (20)
Marvel Avengers (6) Disney’s Frozen 2 (20)
Disney’s The Lion King (10) Pixar Animation Studios (25)
Star Wars: The Last Jedi (12) Disney and Pixar’s Soul (5)
4,000 Soccer fields worth of trees maintained by Dole on its own pineapple and banana plantations (7,400 acres)
1.6 Billion DOLE® Banana stickers printed and distributed annually in North America
9 Billion DOLE® Bananas grown, marketed, sold and/or eaten annually in North America
About Dole Food Company, Inc.
Dole Food Company, Inc., is one of the world’s largest producers and marketers of high-quality fresh fruit and fresh vegetables. Dole is an industry leader in many of the products it sells, as well as in nutrition education. For more information, please visit www.dole.com.
