For decades, Miss Chiquita has been one of the most recognizable faces in the produce aisle — silently smiling from billions of iconic blue stickers. This October, Chiquita Brands International is giving its beloved mascot a voice, bringing her to life in human form for the first time as a live advocate for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
In partnership with the American Cancer Society, the brand is expanding its annual “Small Change, Big Difference” campaign, swapping out its traditional blue stickers for pink stickers on bananas worldwide throughout October.
Chiquita Brands International aims to use Miss Chiquita’s fan base to inspire conversations about breast health, self-care and the importance of early detection.
The message is especially important given the widespread impact of breast cancer. According to the ACS’s Cancer Facts & Figures 2026 report, approximately 1 in 8 women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer during their lifetime, highlighting the importance of awareness and early detection.
The Packer caught up with Miss Chiquita via email to discuss her transition from sticker icon to vocal health ambassador, and how the campaign aims to drive meaningful health conversations right at the produce display.
After more than 80 years on the iconic blue sticker, what went into the decision to bring Miss Chiquita to life in human form as an advocate for breast cancer awareness for the first time?
Miss Chiquita: For more than 80 years, people have known me as the face of “Chiquita’s Blue Sticker.” That familiarity has created a meaningful opportunity to connect with people in a new way — by stepping beyond the sticker and becoming part of the conversation myself.
Breast cancer awareness is an important conversation, but it can also feel overwhelming or distant. “Small Change, Big Difference” is about making that message feel more personal and approachable. As Chiquita’s global brand ambassador, I help make the message feel more personal and approachable while encouraging people to make time for themselves and their health.
For me, it feels like a natural next chapter. This October, I’m using my voice to encourage women to stay informed, make time for their health and keep the conversation around breast cancer awareness going.
How does Chiquita expect this year’s “Small Change, Big Difference” campaign — specifically featuring Miss Chiquita in consumer-facing hero videos and on updated stickers — to drive conversation and engagement at the produce aisle level?
One of the special things about Chiquita is that we have an opportunity to connect with people during a very ordinary part of their day. A banana in a shopping cart or sitting on a kitchen counter may seem like a small thing, but that everyday visibility can create a moment to pause and think about something much bigger.
That is the idea behind the pink sticker. It turns a familiar part of the shopping experience into a visible reminder to make time for your health. This year, the sticker is supported by a hero video, social content, in-store displays and activations that bring the campaign to life beyond the banana itself. By seeing me in a new way, shoppers can connect the message on the sticker with a face, a voice and a story they can engage with.
For retailers, the campaign creates a way to make Breast Cancer Awareness Month more visible in the produce aisle while giving shoppers a natural entry point to an important conversation. The goal is to make breast cancer awareness feel visible and approachable.
Millions of bananas carrying the pink sticker travel around the world every October. How does leveraging such a highly visible, everyday fresh produce item help destigmatize conversations around breast health, early detection and self-care?
That everyday presence is what makes the pink sticker so meaningful. Chiquita bananas make their way into stores, homes, lunchboxes and kitchens around the world, so the message meets people where they already are.
Breast cancer awareness can sometimes feel like a difficult or intimidating subject to talk about. By placing the pink sticker on something familiar, we hope to make the conversation feel more approachable. It can serve as a simple reminder to make time for your health, learn more, ask a qualified health professional a question or start a conversation with someone you love.
That idea is really at the heart of “Small Change, Big Difference”: Meaningful change can begin with a small moment. And when millions of pink stickers are out in the world, there are millions of opportunities to create one of those moments.
Chiquita has partnered with the American Cancer Society for nearly a decade. How has this initiative evolved over the years, and what measurable goals is the brand hoping to achieve with this year’s expanded push?
What began with turning our iconic blue sticker pink has grown into a broader global platform that brings breast cancer awareness into everyday moments. In North America, Chiquita has worked with the American Cancer Society for nearly a decade to help bring breast cancer awareness into everyday moments through educational resources and initiatives that encourage people to make time for their health.
Globally, Chiquita has supported the campaign through The American Cancer Society (U.S.), Fondazione AIRC per la ricerca sul cancro ETS (Italy), Pink Ribbon (Germany), Pink Ribbon (Netherlands), Think Pink (Belgium), Alma Zois — the Hellenic Association of Women with Breast Cancer (Greece), Bröstcancerförbundet (Sweden) and Syöpäsäätiön Roosa Nauha (Finland).
For nearly a decade, Chiquita has supported breast cancer awareness by leveraging the visibility of its global brand to amplify messages around breast health, education and early detection.
Through its annual pink sticker and “Small Change, Big Difference” campaign, collaborations with health organizations around the world, as well as educational programming, community events, employee engagement, retail activations, media outreach, and support for research, fellowship, and patient-service initiatives, Chiquita has transformed a simple brand asset into a broader platform for awareness and community impact.
Miss Chiquita’s signature pose in the campaign — placing a hand over her chest — serves as both a self-check reminder and a new visual element for the sticker. How do you see this visual cue resonating across different global markets and retail partners?
The hand-over-chest pose has become a recognizable part of my role in the campaign over the past few years, so giving that gesture a deeper meaning felt especially natural.
In this campaign, the pose is a simple, symbolic gesture connected to breast cancer awareness and a reminder to make time for your health. It invites people to pause, pay attention to their well-being and seek information or guidance from trusted health organizations and qualified health professionals when needed.
Because the gesture is simple and does not rely on many words, it can carry the same message across different markets: take a moment for yourself and your health. The specific health organizations, resources and retail activations may vary by market, but the gesture can give consumers a consistent and recognizable entry point to the campaign wherever they encounter it.
That’s what “Small Change, Big Difference” means to me. Something as small as a gesture — or even a pink sticker on a banana — can help open the door to a much bigger conversation.
Key Campaign Elements
Throughout Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Chiquita plans to activate the campaign globally through select market activations:
- The return of its pink sticker on bananas worldwide.
- A global and digital social media campaign featuring Miss Chiquita’s message.
- Educational content, including new recipes developed with nutrition experts.
- Retail activations and in-store displays.
- Community events and collaborations, promoting healthy living and well-being.
- Continued collaboration with nonprofit organizations around the world, led in the U.S. by the American Cancer Society.
