Turbana (company)

Turbana Corporation
Industry Produce
Founded August 11, 1970 (1970-08-11) in Coral Gables, United States
Headquarters Florida, Coral Gables, United States
Area served
 North America
Parent Uniban
Website Turbana.com

Established in 1970, grower-owned Turbana Corporation, is a leading importer of tropical produce in North America, including bananas, plantains, pineapples, and ethnic tropicals. Turbana was the first organization to bring Fair Trade Certified bananas to North America.[1] An advocate in sustainability and social consciousness, Turbana has developed the farming communities in the banana and plantain-growing regions in Colombia over the past 44 years through its social foundation, Fundauniban. Turbana gives a portion of every purchase to Fundauniban, contributing to the $250 million the foundation has invested in social and economic projects for education, housing, infrastructure, and environmental protection since 1987. Additionally, Turbana invests in its communities across the US to help them build sustainable and healthier lifestyles. Turbana is owned by Uniban, the world’s largest co-op of banana growers and the world’s largest producer of plantains and Fair Trade Certified bananas, and Fyffes, number one importer of bananas and one of the largest tropical produce importers and distributors in Europe.[2][1][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] [10][11][12] [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]

History

Turbana, a grower-owned banana and plantain company, is the fourth largest importer of bananas in North America, and was the first importer of fair trade-certified bananas in the continent.[7][1] Turbana's parent company, Uniban, is the largest producer of fairtrade bananas in the world.[3] Turbana offers an assortment of fresh tropical products including bananas, plantains, pineapples and 18 different ethnic tropicals.[5][6] It also offers a full line of plantain chips available in six different flavors.[4]

The company takes an active approach to community involvement. An advocate for sustainability and social consciousness,[8] Turbana has worked to develop the farming communities in the banana and plantain-growing regions of Colombia through its social foundation, Fundauniban. For every box of bananas shipped, a fixed amount goes back to the community to support social and economic projects for education, housing, infrastructure, and environmental protection. Founded in 1987, Turbana's social foundation Fundauniban aims to improve the quality of life in the banana and plantain growing regions by ensuring sustainable growth through social, educational, housing, economic, and infrastructure projects.

Launched in 2013, the Growing Smiles, Sharing Goodness movement was established by Turbana as part of a mission to inspire people to eat smart, be active and get involved in their communities. A reflection of Turbana's core beliefs, the movement focuses on building sustainable, flourishing communities in the United States.[2] Growing Smiles, Sharing Goodness focused its efforts on its "25K for Your Cause" campaign, which allowed the community to nominate and vote on a non-profit organization of their choice that would receive a $25,000 sponsorship with Turbana. KEEN New York won the month-long contest that was housed entirely on Turbana's Facebook page.[9]

Fair trade practices

As a pioneer in fair trade, Turbana was the first importer of fairtrade bananas in North America. The company's certified fruit comes from thirty Uniban-operated fairtrade-certified farms in Colombia that uphold the promise of food safety, consistent product quality, environmental sustainability, and excellent labor conditions. To date, Uniban is the largest certified grower of bananas in the world. Turbana and Uniban have utilized fair trade practices, even before certification existed, to provide financial and technical support, safe working conditions, economic development, education, fair prices and a better quality of life for their farmers.[8] Turbana and Uniban work alongside fair trade's governing bodies to contribute a portion of each purchase to a social premium that will benefit the farm workers. This premium is invested in education, housing,[10] microloans,[11] health and sustainability projects in the growing regions.[12]

Community partnerships

  • Produce for Kids, since 2006[15]
  • One Laptop per Child, since 2010[17]
  • Pink Ribbon Produce, 2012[16]
  • Heal the Children, 2012[18]
  • Let's Move Salad Bars to Schools, 2012[19]
  • Learning Through Gardening, 2013[13]
  • Boston's Light the Night Walk, 2013[20]
  • Marine Corp Marathon, since 2013[21]
  • Unite Against Bullying, 2014
  • Love with Food, 2014[22]
  • Turbana's Grillin' Goodness with Weber, 2014[13]
  • Coconut Grove Pumpkin Patch Festival, 2014
  • Feeding America, 2014[14]

History

1966 Uniban was born when a group of farmers came together as a co-op to export fruit directly.
April 1969 Parker Banana, a company from Florida, signs a contract with Uniban to purchase bananas to sell to the U.S. market. Uniban sends the first shipment to the U.S. on a ship called the Matilde with 18,000 boxes of bananas.
August 11, 1970 Turbana Corporation was created as the marketing and operations arm to the North American market.
November 10, 1970 Turbana imports its first shipment to the U.S to Jacksonville, Florida.
1975 Turbana makes debut in European market. Uniban signs a contract with Velleman and Tas B.V. – now Fyffes Plc. – to distribute its fruit in Europe, thereby introducing the Turbana brand to the European market.
1978 Uniban opens a box factory, paving the way for the company’s vertical integration and creating over 100 new jobs.
1983 Turbana opens a new shipping route from Turbo to Newark. A new sales team is hired and offices open in Maryland, Massachusetts, and New Jersey to accommodate Turbana’s expansion plans. By the end of the year, Turbana is established as a prominent player in the North American banana market.
1985 Retail stores start selling Turbana plantains across North America.
1987 Creation of FundaUraba – now Fundauniban – Turbana and Uniban’s social foundation.
1992 With the launch of baby bananas and red bananas, Turbana introduces a new category: exotics. Customized packaging is created to help launch the new varieties and retailers are educated on the new exotics.
1994 Turbana creates the first Private Label Program for Stop&Shop in Boston. Today Turbana is the largest producer of Private Label bananas in North America.
2004 Turbana begins selling Fyffes pineapples.
2005 A strategic alliance between Uniban and Fyffes is formed. Both companies now own 50% of Turbana.
2007 Turbana signs a four-year contract to become the exclusive supplier of bananas and pineapples for Disney, under the Disney Garden Label.
2008 Uniban, Turbana’s parent company, builds its first snack factory in Uraba to produce plantain chips. The snack factory created new jobs and provided an additional source of income for plantain farmers.
March 2010 Turbana diversifies its product portfolio with the launch of Turbana Plantain Chips, available in six flavors: Chili, Chili Lime, Sweet, Lime, Garlic, and Natural.
2012 Turbana launches its Tropical line nationwide, now offering 18 products including Yucca, Chayote, Coconut and Avocado. The tropical program was started to help Turbana’s retail partners cater to the needs of the growing Hispanic market and other ethnic groups.

Source: Turbana[7]

Product line

Bananas[5]
  • Cavendish Bananas
  • Baby Bananas
  • Red Bananas
  • Manzano Bananas
Plantains[5]
  • Harton Plantains
  • Burros Plantains
Tropicals[6]
  • Aji Cachucha
  • Aloe Vera
  • Avocado
  • Batata/Boniato
  • Calabaza
  • Chayote
  • Dry Coconut/Groovy Coconut
  • Eddoes
  • Ginger
  • Habanero Pepper
  • Malanga Coco
  • Malanga Lila
  • Malanga White
  • Malanga Yellow
  • Ñame
  • Sour Orange
  • Yellow Yam
  • Yucca
Pineapples Fyffes Gold pineapples
Snacks Turbana Plantain Chips

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Fair Trade". Turbana.com. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Growing Smiles, Sharing Goodness". Turbana.com. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  3. 1 2 "C.I. Uniban S.A.". Uniban.com. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  4. 1 2 "Chips & Flavors". Plantanicious.com. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Fresh Fruit". Turbana.com. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 "Tasty Tropicals". Turbana.com. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  7. 1 2 3 "Our Story". Turbana.com. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  8. 1 2 3 "Social Responsibility". Turbana.com. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  9. 1 2 "KEEN New York takes prize in Turbana's 'Win 25k for your Cause' contest". The Produce News. 3 Sep 2014. Retrieved 29 Apr 2015.
  10. 1 2 "Social Development". Turbana.com. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  11. 1 2 "Economic Development". Turbana.com. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  12. 1 2 "Community Infrastructure". Turbana.com. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  13. 1 2 3 Bellano, Anthony (24 June 2014). "Turbana, Weber and ShopRite Help Kick Off Summer in Cinnaminson". Cinnaminson Patch. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  14. 1 2 Delong, Katie (24 Nov 2014). ""To make the holidays a bit brighter:" Sendik's donates 43,000 pounds of food, $35K to Feeding America". Fox 6 Now. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  15. 1 2 Ohlemeier, Doug (17 June 13). "Turbana, Price Chopper launch Produce for Kids campaign". The Packer. Retrieved 29 April 2015. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. 1 2 "Turbana and Price Chopper Partner for Pink Ribbon Produce Campaign". Produce For Kids. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  17. 1 2 "Turbana Partners with One Laptop Per Child Organization" (October 2013). The Produce News. 25 Oct 2013. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  18. 1 2 "Turbana, Dayka & Hackett, Rene Produce - Quick Dish". Youtube. AndNowUKnow. 10 Jan 2012. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  19. 1 2 Dunne, Allison (9 Oct 2013). "Salad Bars Are Donated To Two Newburgh Area Schools". WAMC Northeast Public Radio. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  20. 1 2 English, Rachel (4 Dec 2013). "Turbana truck tour encourages community well being". The Packer. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  21. 1 2 Bukaty, Preston (16 Oct 2014). "Banana bonanza at this year's Marine Corps Marathon". The Packer. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  22. 1 2 Nivens, Jonathan (24 Feb 2014). "Turbana Partners with Love with Food at South Beach Wine and Food Festival". AndNowUKnow. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
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