How Equifruit nabs consumer, retail attention for its bananas
Equifruit did not become a North American market leader for Fairtrade-certified bananas by being boringly conventional.
“Our marketing objective is to be impossible to ignore,” said Kim Chackal, director of sales and marketing for Montreal-based Equifruit. “Equifruit packaging will make you do a double-take — our merchandising tools are bright and effective at communicating our 100% Fairtrade sourcing promise, and our social media piggybacks off whatever is trending in pop culture and pulls your attention back to the importance of paying banana farmers fairly. We want our brave audience of #BananaBadasses to join us in our quest for Global Fairtrade Banana Domination.”
Over the past six years, Chackal said fair-trade banana volumes have increased by 466% in Canada and 15% in the U.S.
“Demand for Equifruit Fairtrade bananas continues to grow and we have the supply to match,” she said. “We are in Q1 of our fiscal year and already hit over 50% of our sales targets. The future is looking bright for Equifruit banana farmers."
Chackal said Equifruit organic Fairtrade bananas just launched in Walmart Canada in select provinces.
The company also supplies its organic bananas in two-thirds of Canadian Costco Warehouses as well as in select warehouses in the New York City area, she said.
“We’ve had longstanding partnerships with Canadian customers like Sobeys, Longo’s and Farm Boy as well as a ton of small chains and independent stores,” Chackal said. “Our retail and distribution partners are such champions of the program.”
Breaking bad in a good way
Chackal said Equifruit’s main marketing campaign for this year is to give the brand’s audience the tools to become an “official Banana Badass.”
“We call ourselves and those in our supply chain #BananaBadasses because we’re making equitable supply chains as loved and appetizing as pop culture,” she said.
“We developed a Banana Badass Starter Kit which was distributed at the Organic Produce Summit and International Fresh Produce Association Global Show," she continued. "We also set up a Banana Badass Tattoo HQ at the IFPA Global Show where folks could get a Banana Badass tattoo and level up their lanyard with a Banana Badass ribbon. In 2024, we are going to take it one step further and diagnose what type of Banana Badass you are. Come see us at the Canadian Produce Marketing Association, OPS, IFPA Global Show to take The Quiz.”
Beyond fun times with marketing the brand, Chackal said Equifruit’s 100% Fairtrade brand considers sustainability at the core of its offering.
“Certification through Fairtrade International guarantees a sustainable floor price to farmers as well as additional funds that support environmental, economic and socials projects,” she said. “Equifruit communicates this impact in a way that is accessible and doesn’t feel preachy.”
Chackal said that Equifruit has been on the Top Growing Companies in Canada list in The Globe & Mail for the last two years.
The company has expanded its business across Canada and into the U.S., and company leaders are feeling very optimistic about the future, she said.
“We see buyers wanting to do away with the century-old strategy of using bananas as a loss-leader,” Chackal said. “Instead, they want to showcase innovation in such a high-performing category by partnering with a bold, Women Owned brand that’s all about improving the banana industry and communicating a better distribution of value along the banana supply chain.”
Fairtrade International recently released a GlobeScan study indicating that U.S. consumers are willing to pay 60 cents more per pound for Fairtrade bananas,
“With the momentum we see in Canada and the growing momentum in the U.S., the time is ripe to rethink your banana strategy and to officially become a Banana Badass,” Chackal said.
