Fyffes
Encyclopedia
Fyffes plcFyffes plc ' onMouseout='HidePop("27817")' href="/topics/Republic_of_Ireland">Ireland
. Fyffes is the oldest fruit brand in the world which is most closely associated with the banana. However, the brand is actually applied to a wide range of fruits, most notably the Fyffes Gold Pineapples and Fyffes melons. Fyffes is primarily involved in the production, procurement, shipping, ripening, distribution and marketing of bananas, pineapples and melons. Fyffes currently markets fruit in Europe and the United States primarily under the Fyffes and Turbana brands.
. In 1878 they shipped their first cargo of bananas to England. Within five years the business had become so successful that they purchased land in the Canaries to be cultivated as banana plantations. Meanwhile, Elder Dempster & Company (a large shipping firm which traded in the Canaries) had observed the success of Fyffe & Hudson and followed suit. In 1898 Elder Dempster’s fruit importing business was extended to Jamaica
, which was then the second oldest of Britain’s overseas colonies.
To protect the island’s economy the British government agreed to pay a subsidy of £40,000 a year to Elder Dempster to run a regular steamer service to Jamaica and bring large quantities of bananas to the British market. In May 1901 the firms merged and Elders & Fyffes Ltd was established in London. The following year 45% of the capital was purchased by the United Fruit Company
of America. Thereafter, the business went from strength to strength using specially constructed ships that ensured the fruit arrived in good condition after the long Atlantic crossing.
In 1960 At Bembridge Airport
, Isle of Wight, Britten-Norman
Ltd began trials of their new Cushioncraft
—their name for an air-cushion vehicle built for Elders and Fyffes. It was used to study the potential of this type of vehicle for the carriage of bananas from plantations in the Southern Cameroons.
In May 1969, the company was renamed Fyffes Group Ltd, recognising the diversity and importance of the then (x-number) subsidiary companies. It became an Irish company following takeover by the Irish group FII plc in 1986—FII having been originally established as Fruit Importers of Ireland Limited in 1968. The combined company was initially known as FII Fyffes plc, but became simply Fyffes plc in 1990.
In 2002 Fyffes took legal action against DCC plc
in relation to the sale of its stake in the company, though DCC was eventually cleared of insider trading
at that time. The Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that DCC and Mr Flavin had inside information on Fyffes when it sold its stake in the fruit and vegetable distributor for €106 million in early 2000. This overturned a High Court decision which had gone in DCC's favour. The settlement of the civil claim in 2008 cost DCC around €42 million.
On 15 May 2006, the company spun off its property portfolio to a separate company, Blackrock International Land plc, though it would retain a 40% share. In September 2006, Irish newspapers reported that it was considering spinning off its fresh produce business, leaving Fyffes as purely a banana importer. On 2 January 2007 this occurred, with Total Produce plc listing on the ISE's Irish Enterprise Exchange
and the LSE's Alternative Investment Market
. Fyffes itself, now a pure fruit company, will move from the Official Lists of the ISE and LSE to the IEX and AIM on 10 January 2007.
In September 2008, UNICEF Ireland and Fyffes announced a corporate philanthropy partnership. The five-year partnership funds UNICEF’s work in Mozambique combating the spread of malaria amongst orphaned and other vulnerable children.
- Fyffes is the oldest fruit brand in the world dating back to 1929. While it is of course most closely associated with the banana, it is also applied to the other produce including Fyffes Gold Pineapples and the winter season melons. Bananas - As one of the largest Tropical produce importers and distributors in Europe,
Fyffes offer a full range of bananas, from loose to prepack. The bananas are sourced in the Tropics from countries such as Brazil, Costa Rica, Colombia, Belize, Ivory Coast, Dominican Republic, Ecuador and Honduras. The invention of steam ships, and a little later, of refrigeration, allowed marketable volumes of bananas to survive the long voyage to Northern Europe.
Fyffes carried the first refrigerated commercial shipment of bananas to Britain in 1901 in a purpose built ship called the SS Port Morant.
Pineapples - Fyffes plc also offers the Fyffes Gold Pineapple, this delicious Supersweet variety is sourced from the Central and South Americas in Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama and.
Melons - The third and final product within the Tropical portfolio is Fyffes melons. The range covers all well known melon types such as Galia, Cantaloup, Charentais, Watermelon, Piel de Sapo and Yellow Honeydew. The melons are sourced from Brazil, Honduras, Guatemala and Costa Rica.
is the largest in Europe. This means that the facility is able to accommodate 117,000 boxes (or over 2,100 tonnes) of bananas at any one time.
Fyffes were involved in an exciting rescue that took place 200 miles off the west coast of Ireland at Foynes Port in Co. Limerick. In August 2004, four sailors who were attempting a transatlantic world rowing record were picked up in the stormy waters after their boat was destroyed by huge waves. The Fyffes banana boat was on route from Costa Rica with ¼ million cartons of bananas and was completing the 12 day voyage when they were alerted to the men’s plight. The advert ran in 2 main national newspapers in Ireland the following day.
The company formerly operated its own fleet of ships, known as Fyffes Line
.
Fyffes now (2007) handles the entire banana export produce of Belize
.
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
. Fyffes is the oldest fruit brand in the world which is most closely associated with the banana. However, the brand is actually applied to a wide range of fruits, most notably the Fyffes Gold Pineapples and Fyffes melons. Fyffes is primarily involved in the production, procurement, shipping, ripening, distribution and marketing of bananas, pineapples and melons. Fyffes currently markets fruit in Europe and the United States primarily under the Fyffes and Turbana brands.
History
In the 1870s Thomas Fyffe, a London food wholesaler, went into partnership with a fruit dealer named Hudson who had connections in the Canary IslandsCanary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
. In 1878 they shipped their first cargo of bananas to England. Within five years the business had become so successful that they purchased land in the Canaries to be cultivated as banana plantations. Meanwhile, Elder Dempster & Company (a large shipping firm which traded in the Canaries) had observed the success of Fyffe & Hudson and followed suit. In 1898 Elder Dempster’s fruit importing business was extended to Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, which was then the second oldest of Britain’s overseas colonies.
To protect the island’s economy the British government agreed to pay a subsidy of £40,000 a year to Elder Dempster to run a regular steamer service to Jamaica and bring large quantities of bananas to the British market. In May 1901 the firms merged and Elders & Fyffes Ltd was established in London. The following year 45% of the capital was purchased by the United Fruit Company
United Fruit Company
It had a deep and long-lasting impact on the economic and political development of several Latin American countries. Critics often accused it of exploitative neocolonialism and described it as the archetypal example of the influence of a multinational corporation on the internal politics of the...
of America. Thereafter, the business went from strength to strength using specially constructed ships that ensured the fruit arrived in good condition after the long Atlantic crossing.
In 1960 At Bembridge Airport
Bembridge Airport
Bembridge Airport is located northeast of Sandown, Isle of Wight, England.Bembridge Aerodrome no longer has a CAA Ordinary Licence that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction as authorised by the licensee .The airport is home to the aircraft manufacturer...
, Isle of Wight, Britten-Norman
Britten-Norman
Britten-Norman is a British aircraft manufacturer owned by members of the Zawawi family from the Sultanate of Oman, making it the last remaining UK independent commercial aircraft producer....
Ltd began trials of their new Cushioncraft
Cushioncraft
Cushioncraft Ltd was a British engineering company, formed in 1960 as a division of Britten-Norman Ltd to develop/build hovercraft. Originally based at Bembridge Airport on the Isle of Wight, Cushioncraft later moved to the Duver Works at St...
—their name for an air-cushion vehicle built for Elders and Fyffes. It was used to study the potential of this type of vehicle for the carriage of bananas from plantations in the Southern Cameroons.
In May 1969, the company was renamed Fyffes Group Ltd, recognising the diversity and importance of the then (x-number) subsidiary companies. It became an Irish company following takeover by the Irish group FII plc in 1986—FII having been originally established as Fruit Importers of Ireland Limited in 1968. The combined company was initially known as FII Fyffes plc, but became simply Fyffes plc in 1990.
In 2002 Fyffes took legal action against DCC plc
DCC Plc
DCC plc is an Irish diversified investments group and holding company, founded by Jim Flavin in 1976.-Products and services:Among other interests, they own the Emo oil distributor/filling station network...
in relation to the sale of its stake in the company, though DCC was eventually cleared of insider trading
Insider trading
Insider trading is the trading of a corporation's stock or other securities by individuals with potential access to non-public information about the company...
at that time. The Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that DCC and Mr Flavin had inside information on Fyffes when it sold its stake in the fruit and vegetable distributor for €106 million in early 2000. This overturned a High Court decision which had gone in DCC's favour. The settlement of the civil claim in 2008 cost DCC around €42 million.
On 15 May 2006, the company spun off its property portfolio to a separate company, Blackrock International Land plc, though it would retain a 40% share. In September 2006, Irish newspapers reported that it was considering spinning off its fresh produce business, leaving Fyffes as purely a banana importer. On 2 January 2007 this occurred, with Total Produce plc listing on the ISE's Irish Enterprise Exchange
Irish Enterprise Exchange
The Irish Enterprise Exchange is a market that was launched on 12 April 2005. This market is designed to suit the needs of small to mid-sized companies. IEX offers small to mid-sized companies a number of advantages:...
and the LSE's Alternative Investment Market
Alternative Investment Market
AIM is a sub-market of the London Stock Exchange, allowing smaller companies to float shares with a more flexible regulatory system than is applicable to the main market....
. Fyffes itself, now a pure fruit company, will move from the Official Lists of the ISE and LSE to the IEX and AIM on 10 January 2007.
In September 2008, UNICEF Ireland and Fyffes announced a corporate philanthropy partnership. The five-year partnership funds UNICEF’s work in Mozambique combating the spread of malaria amongst orphaned and other vulnerable children.
Products
BrandBrand
The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...
- Fyffes is the oldest fruit brand in the world dating back to 1929. While it is of course most closely associated with the banana, it is also applied to the other produce including Fyffes Gold Pineapples and the winter season melons. Bananas - As one of the largest Tropical produce importers and distributors in Europe,
Fyffes offer a full range of bananas, from loose to prepack. The bananas are sourced in the Tropics from countries such as Brazil, Costa Rica, Colombia, Belize, Ivory Coast, Dominican Republic, Ecuador and Honduras. The invention of steam ships, and a little later, of refrigeration, allowed marketable volumes of bananas to survive the long voyage to Northern Europe.
Fyffes carried the first refrigerated commercial shipment of bananas to Britain in 1901 in a purpose built ship called the SS Port Morant.
Pineapples - Fyffes plc also offers the Fyffes Gold Pineapple, this delicious Supersweet variety is sourced from the Central and South Americas in Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama and.
Melons - The third and final product within the Tropical portfolio is Fyffes melons. The range covers all well known melon types such as Galia, Cantaloup, Charentais, Watermelon, Piel de Sapo and Yellow Honeydew. The melons are sourced from Brazil, Honduras, Guatemala and Costa Rica.
Facts
The Fyffes Group ripening facility in CoventryCoventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
is the largest in Europe. This means that the facility is able to accommodate 117,000 boxes (or over 2,100 tonnes) of bananas at any one time.
Fyffes were involved in an exciting rescue that took place 200 miles off the west coast of Ireland at Foynes Port in Co. Limerick. In August 2004, four sailors who were attempting a transatlantic world rowing record were picked up in the stormy waters after their boat was destroyed by huge waves. The Fyffes banana boat was on route from Costa Rica with ¼ million cartons of bananas and was completing the 12 day voyage when they were alerted to the men’s plight. The advert ran in 2 main national newspapers in Ireland the following day.
The company formerly operated its own fleet of ships, known as Fyffes Line
Fyffes Line
Fyffes Line was the name given to the fleet of passenger-carrying banana boats owned and operated by the UK banana importer Elders & Fyffes Limited.-History:...
.
Fyffes now (2007) handles the entire banana export produce of Belize
Belize
Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...
.