What makes the best bananas?

Bananas: funny, curvy yellow fruit that look like a puddle of sunshine and taste really good, but there’s a lot more to them than that! Chiquita produce the world’s most famous fruit, and our bananas stand out from the crowd for their great, sweet taste and high quality. Here are a few facts to help you understand what makes our bananas the best.

They’re really good for you!

Chiquita bananas are bursting with important vitamins and minerals, including good levels of potassium and vitamin B6. Potassium is one of the most important minerals in the body, regulating fluid balance and reducing blood pressure and water retention, and vitamin B6 helps the normal functioning of the nervous and immune systems and the formation of red blood cells.

There are more types than you think…

There are over 400 varieties of banana in the world, which come in a whole range of tastes and colors, but the most popular by far is the Cavendish banana. Most of our bananas are of this variety, but we do have others, including:

• Chiquita Minis are a tiny, tangy and tasty banana with a thinner skin than the Cavendish variety – two per day is equivalent to one normal banana.
• Chiquita Plantains look a lot like oversized bananas but are in fact a starchy relative with a thicker skin. They are usually eaten fried, grilled or baked, much like potatoes.
• Chiquita Manzanos are another small but perfectly formed variety, with a pale-yellow peel. They’re delicious chopped in fruit salads, blended in smoothies, baked in bread or just enjoyed as a snack.
• Chiquita Reds are short, plump, and good for you. The lovely ivory flesh of a ripe Red tastes sweet and creamy with raspberry highlights, making them a lovely snack. They also contain more beta carotene than normal bananas.

Our bananas are top of the class

We work hard, 24/7, year-round, to ensure our bananas are the best of the bunch. Over the decades, we’ve done our best to help consumers understand what makes a great banana, and how to choose the best. We’ve also added to the banana fun with all sorts of competitions, games, and versions of our iconic Blue Sticker.

We invest in sustainability

We also do our best to ensure sustainability, work hard to preserve biodiversity and help our local communities, and have adopted the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. We also seek to ensure no banana is wasted, and we are proud of our initiatives to save water, drive down carbon, and ensure workplace safety and gender equality.

For all these reasons, we believe our fruit have exactly what it takes to be the perfect banana. When buying bananas in the store, Chiquita are the best choice to pop in your basket!