Fyffes on a mission to ‘bring more value’ to bananas

As Fyffes’ chief commercial officer, you’re overseeing an ambitious growth strategy, which includes developing Fyffes’ new ‘community-impact’ banana brand Trudi’s. What are your main aims in the role?

Our goal is to contribute to Fyffes’ vision of ‘Shaping the Wellbeing of the World’. My agenda is customer-centric: positioning Fyffes as the partner of choice for customers and the brand of choice for consumers.

I see three key areas of focus. Firstly, becoming a fully customer-centric organisation, tailored to retail customers’ needs and developing the banana category for them and their shoppers. The second area is upholding the highest standards for sustainability and human rights, which is one of the main reasons I joined Fyffes. And thirdly, decommoditising the category by driving category value through innovation and initiatives like Trudi’s. Of course, this all depends on delivering the basics: supply reliability and fruit quality.

The banana category has long suffered from commoditisation and low returns to growers, with retail prices remaining stagnant despite inflation. How is Fyffes helping to move the category forward?

It depends on whether the retailer focuses on private label or brand. Ultimately, price positioning is at the retailer’s discretion. But we can work with them on category management, shopper insights, and tailored solutions that introduce more value. We know banana prices are too low compared with other fruit.

Consumer studies show that people are consistently surprised by how low banana prices are. We share these findings with retailers, but ultimately, it’s their decision. Still, I hope to find partners willing to take bold steps and test higher pricing models in the future.

How has the Trudi’s brand progressed since it was launched in 2023, and how has it been received by shoppers?

So far, we’ve launched Trudi’s in the UK and Norway. In the UK, it’s listed with James Hall, the primary wholesaler to Spar in the north of England, and in Norway we’re working directly with Coop where they’ve listed Trudi’s and are leveraging the branded concept to meet their shoppers’ needs. Both markets have exceeded expectations, with double-digit growth in Norway since launch.

Do you see Trudi’s becoming an alternative to Fairtrade bananas?

Not an alternative, more a complement. We work closely with Fairtrade. Trudi’s is one solution among many for retailers seeking to differentiate their banana category. We’re also relaunching the Fyffes consumer brand in Ireland and the UK, where it has strong heritage and brand awareness. The idea is to bring more value to the category and fight the perception of bananas as a pure commodity.

Sustainability targets are a major focus for Fyffes. What progress have you made towards your key goals?

Sustainability is non-negotiable. Even with global pushbacks, we’re staying the course. We’ve just published our third global sustainability report, which we believe is industry-leading. Our focus is on human rights and environmental improvements. For example, we’re facilitating living wage payments through our strong Fairtrade partnerships, and we’ve trained all Fyffes employees, and many of our suppliers’ employees, on human rights.

Environmentally, over 99 per cent of our packaging is recyclable or compostable. We’ve implemented water stewardship plans across our growing regions. And on carbon, we’re SBTi-certified and have reduced Scope 1 and 2 emissions by over 12 per cent last year.

How has the national strike in Panama affected Fyffes and the international banana industry more widely?

It’s worth mentioning that the strikes were a national issue, not just in bananas. Fyffes wasn’t directly hit, but the whole industry felt the impact. When millions of boxes are taken out of supply, demand shifts elsewhere, tightening global supply. It hasn’t destabilised the market, but it has added demand pressure in other regions.

How are climate change and geopolitical instability impacting global banana supply?

Rising demand, particularly in markets such as Asia, are a really positive thing for the banana sector. But supply disruptions, often caused by climate change, are increasing. We’ve seen TR4 arrive in Ecuador and severe Sigatoka outbreaks in Costa Rica. These challenges add complexity and cost.

To manage them, we’re making contracts more flexible and working with retailers and growers on long-term partnerships instead of transactional deals. Collaboration, agility and flexibility are the only way forward.

Drug trafficking has been another major issue for the banana sector, with large volumes of cocaine trafficked in banana shipments from Latin America to Europe. How is Fyffes responding?

Drug trafficking is a global challenge that is by no means unique to the banana industry. We’ve strengthened controls at both origin and destination, working with authorities and using new technology, including AI-based tracking. We do worry about the impact on the sector’s reputation, but within our area of influence we’re doing everything possible to secure the supply chain.