With “full rebrand’ in place, Equifruit expects stable supply of organic bananas
Working with two cooperatives of small banana producers in Peru and Ecuador, Montreal-based Equifruit Inc. expects steady supply in the months ahead, said Jennie Coleman, president of the firm.
Founded in 2006, Equifruit is a Fairtrade-certified banana importer and distributes in Quebec and Ontario, according to the company. One hundred percent of Equifruit’s bananas are certified by Fairtrade International. The company also is a member of the World Banana Forum.
Through Fairtrade certification, Equifruit assures sustainable floor prices to growers as well as a $1 US per case Fairtrade social premium, said Kim Chackal, director of sales and marketing for Equifruit, The premium is reinvested in projects with positive economic, social and environmental impact.
Rebrand
A rebrand of Equifruit, using the Montreal-based TUX Creative Company, has helped to simplify its message to consumers, company officials said.
“We have introduced a full rebrand of our company: new website (www.equifruit.com), packaging, point-of-sale material, social media strategy (Instagram: @equifruit) and videos,” Coleman said. “We wanted a unified look and feel across all brand touch points.”
The new look, unveiled in January, is underpinned by the tagline “The Only Banana You Should Buy.”
“We want consumers to be engaged by Fairtrade, to understand quickly the reasons to buy our product, anchored in the simple notion that ‘farmers gotta get paid,’” Coleman said. “The copy on our banding is intended to draw people in, to make them say ‘What? The only banana that what?,’ and then delivers the message that these are Fairtrade bananas which pay farmers fairly.”
“We have got a lot of positive feedback on this approach,” Coleman said. “We know that people make very quick decisions while they’re shopping but will have time to read more once they get home.”
Chackal said Equifruit wants to capture the attention of shoppers and delight them in joining the mission to make Fairtrade bananas the norm. “We are targeting millennials and Gen-Z because they demand more from today’s brands to be solving the world’s problems,” she said.
Worth it
A Fairtrade conventional banana might cost 20 or 30 cents more per pound at retail in Canada, Coleman said. While that may be a big jump percentage wise, it would make hardly any difference to a shopper’s overall bill, and would still be the cheapest fruit in the produce section, Coleman said. “This Fairtrade banana would make a huge difference to small producers and plantation workers across growing countries, and to the way bananas are produced at origin.”
Coleman said many European retailers have made commitments to source 100% of their bananas on Fairtrade terms in order to address sustainability issues in the industry. About 35% of bananas in the United Kingdom are Fairtrade, while in the U.S. the figure is about 1%, she said.
Equifruit has a new website at https://www.equifruit.com and has a series of videos planned for the year, the first of which has been released.