Our Story
From tea to bananas;
our story begins
Go south my boy! From their base in Perth, Scotland, the Fyffes family send young Henry to set up a new business in London as a "Grocer and Tea Dealer"
Ida, I have an idea ... Edward Wathen Fyffe (Henry's great grandson) takes his wife, Ida, to the Canary Islands to recover from Tuberculosis. Whilst there, he is impressed by the quality and the fabulous taste of the bananas and decides that he will set up an import agency in London for growers looking for new markets. Ida makes a full recovery.
The first two bunches: Edward's first tiny shipment of two bunches of bananas arrives at the offices of E.W.Fyffes & Sons, 148 ½ Fenchurch Street. The business grows so fast that Edward soon has no time for tea!
Now available in Ireland: The first bananas from Fyffes reach Ireland.
That's cool! Now known as Elders & Fyffes, the company's ships are fitted with cooling equipment that make it possible to ship larger quantities of bananas on a reliable and consistent basis. Bananas become much more widely available.
The world's first fruit brand; Elders and Fyffes becomes Fyffes
The Fyffes Blue Label is born! Fyffes becomes the first fruit company in the world to put a label on their produce.
Bananas for the children: On December 30th the Fyffes ship, SS Tilapa, brings the first commercial shipment of 10 million bananas into the UK after World War II. The government proclaims that all the bananas should go to children - a new generation get their first taste of this exotic tropical fruit.
Caution - this banana should be peeled before eating! During the difficult years after the war, food is rationed in the UK and bananas are scarce. But by 1950 bananas are becoming more widely available and a cinema commercial is produced, giving advice on how to eat one.
More than just bananas: Fyffes branches out into other fruits and vegetables.
One voice: Fruit Importers of Ireland is formed under the leadership of Neil McCann. The group distributes leading brands from around the world, on an exclusive basis.
Fyffes Group Ltd. Elders & Fyffes becomes Fyffes Group Ltd.
We're now a plc!
A focus on the environment
Fyffes plc: Fyffes is acquired by Fruit Importers of Ireland (FII) and is renamed Fyffes plc.
Our code of practice: Fyffes introduces its "Code of Practice" to which its companies and contractual partners must comply. The Code sets high standards in relation to product, people and environment.
- Fyffes acquires Velleman & Tas BV (founded in 1850), one of Europe's leading banana distributors and the Netherlands' largest fresh produce company.
Fyffes Bio - guaranteed, naturally! Fyffes focus on organic production and take their first organic bananas into the UK.
Fyffes join EurepGAP: As part of its commitment to trading fairly and a focus on international certification standards, Fyffes becomes a member of EurepGAP (now GlobalGAP).
First for Fairtrade; Fyffes Organic Bio is launched
Fyffes are first with Fairtrade: Fyffes work with Fairtrade to bring the first Fairtrade labeled bananas into the UK (they soon become the biggest importer of Fairtrade bananas into the UK and later, into Europe).
Fyffes also joins the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) - an organization intent on improving the lives of workers across the globe.
A new partner: Internationale Fruichimport Geselleschaft Weichert & Co. KG in Hamburg becomes part of the Fyffes family.
Fyffes in North America: Fyffes enters into a strategic alliance with Uniban SA, a long time partner (the main banana and plantain export company in Colombia) through a 50/50 ownership in Turbana Corporation, Florida. Fyffes becomes the fifth largest banana supplier to the US market.
Total Produce: So that it may focus on its tropical business, Fyffes demerges its general produce and distribution business into a new separately quoted company - Total Produce plc begins trading on December 30th.
Fyffes enters the US winter melon business, acquiring 60% of Sol Group Marketing Company, Florida.
Fyffes commits to a natural taste: Fyffes reaffirms its commitment to organic produce as part of a drive for social responsibility and sustainability.
Fyffes supports the UNICEF program in Mozambique to prevent childhood malaria.
Happy 80th birthday! On July 16th, the Fyffes brand celebrates its 80th birthday. The Fyffes Blue Label stands for premium quality and sustainable production.
Growth in Europe; a 125th birthday!
Weichert celebrates its centenary: - On October 10th, Weichert GmbH & Co.KG (a Fyffes joint venture company based in Hamburg, Germany) celebrates its 100th birthday.
- On August 11th, Turbana Corporation (a Fyffes joint venture company based in Florida, US) celebrates its 40th birthday.
- On October 19th, Fyffes Group Limited becomes the first UK Banana Importer and Distributor to be awarded the Carbon Trust Standard.
A stronger position in Germany: In January Fyffes acquires 33.3% of Fruchtimport van Wylick GmbH in Germany - this association creates new opportunities to provide services to the wholesale and retail sectors.
125 years old and still going strong! On September 20th Fyffes celebrates its 125th birthday!
Fresh Quest acquisition: Fyffes acquired one of Sol main competitors, Fresh Quest Inc. Today Fyffes is the largest importer of off-shore melons into the US
Highline acquisition: Fyffes expanded its product base by acquiring Highline Produce Inc, the largest mushroom producer in Canada and one of the largest in North America.
All Seasons acquisition: Fyffes acquired All Seasons, one of the largest mushroom producers in Western Canada. Together with the acquisition of Highline Produce, Fyffes is now the only mushroom producer positioned to supply premium quality mushrooms to retailer across the entire country.
A New Chapter: On 17th February 2017 ownership of the company passes to Sumitomo Corporation.
Discovering Fyffes
At Fyffes we like to keep things simple. Our world is all about fruit - bananas, pineapples and melons in particular. Growing, sourcing, shipping, ripening, distributing and marketing these amazing fruits is all we do. It’s a cliché, but we are passionate about them. Two of the things that really matter to us: building long term partnerships with our growers to produce the very best fruit; and a commitment to do that fairly and sustainably so we can all enjoy eating it long into the future!
Fyffes is one of the world’s largest fruit companies and Europe’s number 1 banana supplier (in the U.S we are 4th for bananas, 1st for melons and 1st for mushrooms), but we know that’s not what’s important to you. You just want to know that our products are of great quality and they are produced responsibly. But rather than tell you about what we do, we’d rather you saw for yourself and as you explore the amazing story of how bananas and other fruits get from our farm to your fruit bowl, we hope you’ll discover that although we’re not perfect, we are working hard to do it right.
So how did it all begin? Well, without tea, none of it would have happened. In 1884, when Edward Wathen Fyffe was a young tea trader he visited the Canary Islands where he discovered a fruit that changed his life – the banana. He was so impressed with this strange tropical fruit that he persuaded his father to switch from tea to bananas. It turned out to be a good decision and the start of a success story that is still going strong 130 years later. Fyffes is now the oldest fruit brand in the world, operating in Europe, North, Central and South America.
Fyffes in North America
- Fyffes entered the North American market in 2004 when it started distributing pineapples through Turbana.
- The following year Fyffes joined forces with Uniban (the world's largest co-op of banana growers and longtime Fyffes' partner) by acquiring 50% of Turbana Corporation, adding bananas to their North American business. In 2016, premised on its ambition to optimize the scale and quality of its offering to its North American customers, Turbana was rebranded Fyffes North America.
- Fyffes continued to expand into the US fruit market by offering winter melons through its acquisition, in 2007, of the Sol Group Marketing Company. Under Fyffes’ ownership, Sol purchased new farms, making them the largest importer of off-shore melons into the US. In 2015, continuing their tremendous growth, Fyffes acquired one of Sol’s main competitors, Fresh Quest Inc.
- 2016 has seen Fyffes move into an exciting new product territory, mushrooms, first acquiring Highline Produce Inc, Canada's largest producer, then All Seasons Mushrooms, one of the largest producers in Western Canada, making Fyffes the third largest mushroom producer in North America. Exciting times.
About us
- Our head office is in Dublin, Ireland.
- Our headquarters in North America are in Coral Gables, Florida.
- In North America Fyffes is the number one importer of off-shore melons, the number three importer of supersweet pineapples, and the fourth largest importer of bananas. We are also the largest mushroom producer in Canada and one of the largest in North America.
- We employ over 6000 people and have offices in 12 countries, but our people work throughout the world - wherever there are bananas, pineapples, melons, or mushrooms!
- Fyffes is the number 1 importer of bananas and the leading marketer of organic & Fairtrade bananas to Europe. We are also amongst the largest global marketer for supersweet pineapples and winter season melons.
- We’ve traded with certain grower groups in Central and South America for over 50 years. We believe that to get the best fruit and to do it sustainably we need to develop strong long term partnerships with our growers and their communities. It’s a great combination; our commercial and logistics expertise and their understanding of the local situation and conditions. Over time this has grown beyond a purely ‘business’ relationship and we are now engaged in numerous partnerships, community development programs and sponsorships.
- Today, Fyffes is the importer with the world’s highest number of GlobalG.A.P. certified production partners. (GlobalG.A.P. is an independent organization measuring standards in farming practices).
How do you pronounce “Fyffes”? (Fy-ff-es)
Sorry, we know that our name is difficult to pronounce! Here’s a simple way to remember how to say ‘Fyffes’… Think of the English number ‘Five’, then replace the ‘v’ with an ‘f’ and you have ‘Fife’. Add an ‘s’ and say it out loud. There you have it… Fyffes!
Fyffes - however you pronounce it; we just want you to enjoy our fruit!