Banacol expands in Costa Rica
Banacol Marketing Corp., Coral Gables, Fla., has a new farm in Sardinal, Costa Rica, where the company already has farms in the western coast area and central region.
“Banacol is a firm believer the best pineapples are from Costa Rica, so all our time and energy and resources are invested there,” said Bill Sheridan, executive vice president of sales.
The farm is fully operational and will help diversify the company’s production, Sheridan said.
“It will help us to have more consistent production during the year. We have seen some great benefits so far because this crop is so reliant on the weather, and this farm has given us a great balance to our overall production,” he said.
Dole Fresh Fruit rolls out instructional videos
Dole Fresh Fruit, Westlake Village, Calif., produced two short videos that focus on the two main consumer concerns with buying fresh, whole pineapples — selecting and cutting the fruit.
The videos are available for viewing on YouTube and through the video section of the Dole bananas website.
Communications manager Bil Goldfield said the videos are meant to address the consumer trend of learning via video.
“We expect the simplicity of the message in these videos to increase consumer knowledge and confidence regarding pineapples, which should help drive incremental sales,” Goldfield said.
North American Produce exits deal
North American Produce Buyers Ltd., Toronto, left the pineapple deal last August, so this will be its first full year of being uninvolved in the deal.
Instead of pineapples, vice president Steven Davidson said the company plans to focus more on items such as high-end grapes, cherries, and stone fruits. They also entered the apple deal this year and have seen success in those categories.
Davidson said an overabundance of pineapple suppliers led to the decision to leave the category.
“There are growers and suppliers in Costa Rica, Brazil and Ecuador, and the market just can’t handle that much product,” he said, noting that low retail prices and high shipping costs make it difficult for anyone on the supply chain to make a profit.
Turbana revamps port procedures
Turbana Corp., Coral Gables, Fla., has streamlined port operations in its Philadelphia and Freeport, Texas, facilities, according to Alan Dolezal, vice president of sales.
“We feel that our port operations team is the industry’s finest, as evidenced by our rapid truck turnaround time in both ports,” Dolezal said.
“Having our own in-house ship chartering and maritime services provider, Isabella Shipping, is also a huge advantage in terms of logistical control.”
In addition to these logistic improvements, the company upgraded its website, www.turbana.com, to feature its status as the Responsible Supplier of Choice, Dolezal said.
Turbana markets pineapples in partnership with Dublin-based Fyffes, which is co-owner of Turbana’s parent company, Uniban.
Comments (0) Leave a comment