Chiquita is looking to spread its risk and increase the proportion of its sales that are accounted for by higher margin products and markets.
In the second quarter of the multinational’s financial year, more than 50 per cent of global sales were taken up by core product bananas. But Ed Loyd, manager of investor relations and corporate communications for Chiquita Brands International Inc, told the Packer that Chiquita’s aim is for at least five per cent of its revenue to come from new, high-margin products.
Chiquita has been diversifying its offer over the last few years, bringing in several new products as well as targeting new sales channels and devising different uses for its bananas.
For example, Chiquita to Go, the company’s individual bananas sold at US c-stores, coffee houses and other non-traditional locations, are up 17 per cent year on year. Chairman and chief executive officer Fernando Aguirre recently said that consumers are willing to pay as much as three times more for an individual banana in a non-traditional outlet than in a traditional supermarket.
The company has rolled out its smoothie line - Just Fruit in a Bottle - in Europe, and introduced Chiquita-branded fruit cups to McDonald’s locations in The Netherlands. In its homeland, Chiquita is one of the suppliers for the Fresh Apple Fries product that have wowed Burger King customers since nationwide roll out in July.
Aguirre told the US trade journal: “We are also continuing to permanently invest in long-term opportunities that will extend and grow the Chiquita brand and help expand the company’s market position in the higher-margin categories. Our goal remains the same - to make innovative products more convenient and available to customers and consumers.”
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