West Bridgewater, Mass.-based Oke USA Fruit Co./Equal Exchange Produce has intensified its consumer-focused marketing efforts on behalf of the three grower cooperatives with which it works in Ecuador and Peru, said Angelica Hicks, banana category lead.
“We are still working with the same three groups we’ve been working for years, but we’ve been able to order more from all three and do more work connecting farmers directly with consumer through education and marketing materials,” Hicks said.
Oke USA distributed new point-of-sale materials to retailers in March, which is Banana Month, Hicks said.
The company also conducted a webinar March 18, which featured a conversation with Ecuadorian grower Cecilia Manzanillas, Hicks said.
Manzanillas talked about her experiences as a woman farmer and as a member of the cooperative board, the co-op Asoguabo, in El Guabo, Ecuador, Hicks said.
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