Marketing and distribution of bananas, pineapples and fresh salads with own logistics and shipping fleet.
Chiquita Brands International Sarl
Etoy (CH) · Fort Lauderdale (US) · Vlissingen (NL)New on Amplifa
About Chiquita
Chiquita Brands International Sarl is a Swiss-US fruit trading company with its European headquarters in Etoy (Switzerland) and US headquarters in Fort Lauderdale. The company was founded in 1899 as the United Fruit Company in Boston and is today one of the world's leading banana exporters. It markets bananas under the iconic brand with the blue sticker, pineapples (including the Sunburst Gold Pineapple) and fresh salads under the Fresh Express brand. The value chain includes cultivation on own and contract farms, packing plants, quality controls, and logistics with own refrigerated ships and a container fleet. Deliveries to Germany and Northern Europe have been handled via the seaport of Vlissingen in the Netherlands since 2018. The company is active in over 70 countries and focuses on sustainable agriculture, biodiversity and occupational safety (SA8000, Rainforest Alliance).
- Site
- Etoy
- Processes
- Marketing and distribution of bananas and tropical fruits, Pineapple production, Salads (Fresh Express), Logistics and shipping with own ships and container fleet, Packing plants
- Materials
- Bananas, Pineapples, Fresh salads
- Certificates
- SA8000 (100% of farms), Rainforest Alliance Better Banana Project, SA8000, Rainforest Alliance (Better Banana Project)
- Founded
- 1899
- Industries
- Fruit trade, Food, Banana export
- 01
Cultivation (own and contract farms)
- 02
Harvesting and packing plants
- 03
Quality controls
- 04
Refrigerated shipping and container logistics
- 05
Handling at the seaport of Vlissingen
- 06
Marketing and distribution
Products & Goods Chain
Bananas
Core product, distributed under the Chiquita brand with the blue sticker.
Pineapples
In the portfolio since 1991, including the Sunburst Gold Pineapple variety.
Fresh salads
Fresh-cut and salad products under the Fresh Express brand (since 2005).
Locations
Etoy
CHEuropean headquarters
Fort Lauderdale
USUS headquarters
Vlissingen
NLSeaport / hub for Germany and Northern Europe
Products
Inside the production
Industries
Additional services
Quality & Certification
Every Chiquita banana undergoes several strict quality controls before receiving the iconic blue sticker. 100% of Chiquita farms are certified to the SA8000 labor standard; in addition, certifications exist under the Rainforest Alliance's Better Banana Project.
| Evidence | Etoy |
|---|---|
| SA8000 | |
| Rainforest Alliance (Better Banana Project) |
History
- 1870
Lorenzo Dow Baker buys 160 banana stems in Jamaica and sells them in Jersey City
- 1878
Baker and Andrew Preston found the Boston Fruit Company
- 1899
Foundation of the United Fruit Company in Boston (March 30, 1899)
- 1903
First company with refrigerated Atlantic transport; listed on the NYSE
- 1913
Foundation of the Tropical Radio and Telegraph Company
- 1928
Masacre de las Bananeras in Ciénaga, Colombia
- 1944
Premiere of the Chiquita Banana advertising jingle
- 1947
Chiquita brand registration
- 1954
US/CIA-backed coup in Guatemala with involvement of UFC interests
- 1970
Merger with AMK Corporation to form United Brands Company
- 1975
Death of Eli Black; Honduras bribery scandal
- 1984/85
Carl H. Lindner Jr. takes control, headquarters moved to Cincinnati
- 1990
Renamed Chiquita Brands International
- 1991
Acquisition of Frutas Dominicanas, entry into pineapple production
- 2001/2002
Chapter 11 bankruptcy (Nov 2001), emergence on March 19, 2002
- 2003
Acquisition of the German fruit trader Atlanta AG
- 2005
Acquisition of Fresh Express from Performance Food Group
- 2018
Relocation of supply routes for Germany/Northern Europe from Bremerhaven to the port of Vlissingen (NL)