Fyffes celebrates 80 years
Fruit importer Fyffes celebrates its 80th year, with brand recognition of 97% giving it a very happy birthday
Print8 July 2009
On 16 July 2009, the Fyffes brand celebrates its 80th birthday.
The famous blue label made its first appearance in 1929, making Fyffes the oldest fruit brand at retail in the world.
According to Laurence Swan, Fyffes managing director for research and development, this milestone is a proud achievement for the brand: “Over the past 80 years the Fyffes brand has gone from strength to strength. To this day, the famous Fyffes blue label continues to be recognised as a symbol of quality with over 67% of consumers deeming Fyffes the best quality banana brand on the market.
“Recent brand tracking shows that Fyffes total brand awareness has increased to a phenomenal 97%. Fyffes Bananas are also recognised by a large majority of consumers as being the best quality banana brand, the best value for money banana, and the tastiest banana by a significant margin versus any other banana brand.”
When the Fyffes blue label appeared in 1929, it was the first time in history that any fresh fruit was branded. Supported by a significant and pioneering advertising campaign at the time, the public quickly interpreted the innovation as a quality statement enabling Fyffes to differentiate its fruit from that of the competition.
The Fyffes Company has grown since those early days to become one of the largest tropical produce importers and distributors in the world. In Europe, Fyffes is the second largest distributor of bananas whilst globally Fyffes is the fourth largest banana distributor. With a turnover of €760 million and an infrastructure that reaches across the world, Fyffes is primarily involved in the production, procurement, shipping, ripening, distribution and marketing of bananas, pineapples and melons. It currently markets fruit in Europe and the United States under the Fyffes, Turbana and Sol brands.
Also commenting on the occasion, David McCann, chairman, Fyffes Plc, said: “The longevity of the Fyffes brand marks a great achievement in the history of our company and is, in itself, a testament to the great care and attention afforded to the highly perishable product with which we work. Our endless dedication to quality ensures that when consumers choose a Fyffes blue label branded product they are buying the best.”
To this day, one of the most memorable Fyffes advertising campaigns is the ‘Fyffe times better than your average banana’ advert which first appeared in 1991 followed the popular ‘Bananas Like These Don’t Grow On Trees’ campaign. Current Fyffes advertising focuses on the sustained energy release derived from Fyffes bananas, communicated in a humorous manner to generate cut-through with consumers.
This year also saw Fyffes collaborate with the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) and its Summer Soccer Schools, launching a successful nationwide on pack promotion. In addition, Fyffes has also committed to partnering with Unicef for the next five years and has launched an ATL and BTL campaign to drive awareness of the programme.
Related Articles
Harley & Marley unveils Ireland’s first sustainable fish pet food →
Milish Bakery secures multi-million euro deal with M&S →
On your team →
Fans 0
Followers