Basingstoke & Fyffes
Yes, we have some bananas!
“As a location for our UK Head Office and one of our strategically placed Ripening & Distribution hubs, Basingstoke is ideal.”
Paul Barrett, UK Brand Manager
Fyffes moved from London to Houndmills Road in 1997. Since then, the ripening capacity has been significantly increased and the latest 3 deck chambers have been installed – each one able to ripen a quarter of a million bananas over a 5 day period!
In 1929, Fyffes became the first fresh produce company in the world to put a label on it’s fruit. The same commitment to quality and confidence in the integrity of it’s fruit that prompted the introduction of that branded label still underpin the company’s approach to business today. As the UK’s biggest importer of Fairtrade bananas and corporate sponsor of Unicef, Fyffes has the wellbeing of its growers and their communities at the very heart of its activities.
Fyffes plc is a leading international producer, importer and distributor of tropical produce. Headquartered in Dublin, Fyffes has operations in Europe, the US and Central & South America. Our primary activities are the production, procurement, shipping, ripening, distribution and marketing of three product categories - bananas, pineapples and winter season melons. Fyffes employs approximately 2,000 personnel, with this number increasing to 7,000 during the melon harvesting season.
The Houndmills facility is the centre of our UK business and employs 50 people to look after the Head Office administration, and up to 100 people in the ripening, production and distribution areas. Located so close to major trunk roads, the railway and with easy access to the airports, our Basingstoke positioning couldn’t be better. And of course there is a strong labour market and a thriving business community.
Our business has evolved to meet the needs of the big retailers and today, 90% of our produce is destined for supermarket. Bananas are available loose, or packed to meet specific requirements – smaller fruits for the children’s’ packs; greener fruit for the ripen-at-home packs; value packs with a larger fruit count; and then of course there’s the Fairtrade and the Organics products. But whatever the format, all Fyffes fruit is produced according to international standards and setting us apart from our competitors is the fact that Fyffes prefers not to own its own plantations, but instead to develop long term relationships with grower groups and co-operatives, helping them to find markets for their produce overseas. It’s this commitment to fair trade that has helped us to become leaders in Fairtrade.
Fyffes – Fyffe times better than your average banana!
For more, take a peek at our website www.fyffes.com
