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Thanks a bunch! Sainsbury’s customers tuck into a record 26 million bananas over Fairtrade Fortnight

Sainsbury

22 March 2011

During Fairtrade Fortnight 2011, Sainsbury's customers up and down the country made their way through an impressive 26 million Fairtrade bananas, beating last year's Fortnight sales by over 1 million.  In a world first, Sainsbury's called on the nation to support Fairtrade Fortnight by eating a record number of bananas to generate thousands of pounds in Fairtrade premiums for supplier communities in the developing world.
Over the last two weeks, as well as giving farmers a guaranteed minimum price for their products, the UK has generated a staggering £149,000 in Fairtrade premiums through purchasing Sainsbury's bananas.  From ambulances in St Lucia to school books in the Dominican Republic, this money will help provide a wide variety of much needed infrastructure, health services and education for thousands of the world's poorest people.
Sainsbury's colleagues also went banana-crazy in the name of Fairtrade, with activity taking place up and down the country to celebrate the Fortnight.   Sainsbury's even sent out some real life bananamen and women to deliver free Fairtrade bananas to residents of Acacia Roads around the country - the home of fictional childhood superhero Bananaman.
Enhancing its position as the world's largest Fairtrade retailer, Sainsbury's also announced that it hopes to increase the overall value of its Fairtrade range to £500million by 2015. Last year, one in every four pounds spent on Fairtrade in the UK was spent at a Sainsbury's store, translating to annual sales of £276 million for the supermarket alone.
Sainsbury's chief executive,  Justin King, said:
"Sainsbury's customers have taken Fairtrade to their hearts and really got behind our campaign to shine a spotlight on the fantastic banana farmers and growers we work with across the world.
"Many people predicted that Fairtrade would slide in the post-recession era as customers look for value, but we have seen the exact opposite happen and we at Sainsbury's are absolutely committed to providing our customers with ethically sourced products at affordable prices.
"We are proud to be the world's largest Fairtrade retailer and that is why we intend to increase sales of Fairtrade products in our stores to £500m by 2015."In the last year alone, Sainsbury's has sold 650 million Fairtrade bananas - over 1200 bananas a minute. As well as giving banana farmers a guaranteed minimum price for their crop, the Fairtrade banana partnership alone generates around £4 million in Fairtrade premiums for Third World agricultural communities around the world.
To see how buying Fairtrade bananas makes a difference to producers in Colombia and for more information on Sainsbury's Fairtrade Fortnight 2011 activity visit http://www.j-sainsbury.co.uk/.
EnquiriesFor further information, photography and footage, please contact:Jeremy Lucas, Selena Hedley Lewis and Daisy Swan at Blue Rubicon020 7260 2700sainsburys@bluerubicon.com Notes to Editors
Sourcing with integrity is central to Sainsbury's ability to deliver great products at fair prices. It is committed to offering products that are better for customers and for the environment, in away that is also better for the animals, farmers and producers involved in their production.
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