Dole mascot returns to keep the spotlight on bananas

Dole’s much-loved Bobby Banana mascot is back in a big way for 2023, says Bil Goldfield, director of corporate communications for Dole Food Co.

“Bobby will reemerge this year as the face of Dole bananas for back-to-school, at special events, in the media and as the star of Dole web, social media, marketing and retail programs,” Goldfield said, adding that the mascot conveys the “energy, exuberance and healthy, all-audience fun of America’s most popular produce.”

Bananas are Dole’s largest commodity product and a continuing focus for the company worldwide, he said. 

“As the No. 1 brand in North America and No. 2 in Europe for conventional and organic bananas, Dole has become synonymous with the beloved yellow fruit, and retailers can use to differentiate their banana program,” Goldfield said. “For retailers looking to address the growing calls for partner transparency, a premium Dole banana program offers unique advantages — from a controlled supply chain, a focused account team and reliably sourced and delivered volumes to the ability to convert this rising consumer passion for sustainability and authenticity into increased sales and customer loyalty.”

Consumer inroads

The company’s Dole Fruit Love — a first-quarter collaboration with Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and other classic Disney characters that celebrates the nostalgic place that bananas and other popular fruits and vegetables have in the lives of consumers — gave Dole a great start to the year, he said. The program consists of in-store elements as well as social media, public relations and web support. 

“Bananas are a focus of our social media and PR throughout the year,” he said. “We look for eating occasions [like the recent Banana Bread Day], product-related partners and banana influencers, and engagement opportunities that elevate banana awareness.”

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For example, Dole Food Co.’s Loaded Banana Bread recipe, made with bananas, eggs, almond milk yogurt and crushed pecans, narrowly edged out a recipe created by student chefs at North Carolina’s Community Culinary School of Charlotte during a public bake-off and blind taste test in late February at the CCSC Café.

The winning recipe was crowned “Charlotte’s Best Banana Bread” and distributed to banana lovers throughout the city in honor of Feb. 23’s designation as National Banana Bread Day.

The competition was part of a larger collaboration between the two organizations to develop healthy, produce-forward cooking and lifestyle habits and provide training to allow more local residents to access North Carolina’s culinary and food service sector, according to a news release. 

Inflation fighter

Goldfield said bananas are a familiar and ever-present option for consumers, even in times of inflation and economic uncertainty.

“With their ubiquity, bananas are the satisfying, all-natural comfort food your customers turn to when times are uncertain — and this is how we position them,” Goldfield said. “Despite rising inflation and food costs across the board, bananas have done better than most other produce and household staple items in maintaining their appeal for consumers and holding their average basket size of 2.5 to 3 pounds. For shoppers looking to stretch their food dollar, the beloved yellow fruit remains one of the best values throughout the entire supermarket.”

Goldfield said high consumer inflation has had little sway on banana retail pricing. 

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“In the face of all recent challenges, bananas have held strong and remain America’s favorite fruit,” he said. “They are practically the perfect food: convenient, economical, nutrient-packed, naturally sweet, just the right size for kids’ lunches, and come in their own biodegradable packaging. Customers are looking for value products that are healthy and available year around. Bananas comply with all of that.”

Organic and fair trade fruit are important to a substantial number of consumers, Goldfield said.

“Industry stats prove that organic produce remains a mainstream product,” he said. “We’ve found that a sizeable percentage of organic customers’ commitment to fair trade and organic produce runs deeper than current price and economic conditions. For these banana buyers, a commitment to personal, planetary and societal health continues to resonate.”

Maximizing retail sales

Retailers can embrace the strength of the banana to boost sales, Goldfield said.

“Savvy retailers and produce managers can maximize sales by leaning into the fruit’s premium nutrition story, classic taste, low-unit price and unsurpassed value as an all-day recipe ingredient as well as a healthier, economical alternative to breakfast and energy bars, snack foods, post-workout sports drinks and just about everything in between,” he said.

Retailers can try several ways to increase awareness, he said. 

• Offering multiple color stages appeals to broader shopper usage preferences and demographics may increase purchase size. 
• Secondary displays near the cereal aisle, dairy section or checkout can promote bananas as an impulse purchase or single-serve snack option. 
• Shoppers are eager to know where and how their bananas are grown, and the more they know, the more they will appreciate their favorite fruit.
• Keep displays fully stocked with bright, beautiful and unblemished bananas.
• Offer unexpected and inspirational usage ideas or recipe suggestions. 

“Beyond this, Dole offers retailers access to some of the most powerful — and appealing! — characters, alliances, healthy-living initiatives, social media platforms, follower groups and online recipe libraries in produce, such as programs with The Walt Disney Co. and No Kid Hungry,” Goldfield said.

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Goldfield said continuous disruptions of the supply chain due to weather events, labor, shipping, trucking issues and high costs is the most challenging part of the banana business. 

He said Dole has mitigated those challenges with vertical integration and its own shipping. 

Dole has a mission to “Make the World a Healthier Place,” which includes a broad definition of health and informs all of its marketing and communications programs, he said. 

“While our mission centers on nutrition and wellness, it is more than that. It is a healthy planet with clean water and renewable energy; healthy farms with rich soils and quality products; healthy living with sustainable labor and wages; and healthy production with low emissions and smaller carbon footprints,” Goldfield said. “As the company’s largest and most prolific crop, bananas will continue to play a pivotal role in this bold path moving forward.”