Waitrose bananas

From her small, 5 acre farm between the mountainous slopes of the Windward Isles overlooking the Caribbean, Etheldred Andrews has been supplying bananas exclusively for Waitrose for the last 10 years.

Apart from harvest time when she might need an extra pair of hands, Etheldred and her family take great pride in the entire running of their small holding, doing all the pruning, hoeing and cultivation themselves.

The first time the bananas appeared in our shops they attracted a significant following, especially among families with children as the bananas planted in the hilly terrain of these islands need longer to grow and as a result tend to be small and sweet.

Over the past year and a half, all our Windward Isles bananas have been certified as Fairtrade fruit and Waitrose is now the very first national supermarket to sell 100% Fairtrade bananas in all of their branches. We work in partnership with growers to ensure an all-year-round fair price for them and we regularly send our buyers and agronomist specialist to the Islands to offer advice and help on anything from fertilisers to packaging. This way, everybody benefits: our growers are assured of a stable income, we take delivery of top quality produce and you enjoy great tasting bananas.

About our unique partnerships

Waitrose is unique amongst UK supermarkets in its ethical approach to banana sourcing. In conjunction with WIBDECO (the Windward Islands Banana Development Company) who manage the transportation and marketing of bananas from the Windward Islands to the UK, Waitrose has formed a grower group: the Waitrose Windward Grower Group (WWGG) - a group that is dedicated to best practise production techniques, creating stable and sustainable conditions for growers, and providing Waitrose with the best quality, fully traceable bananas.

The special relationship between Waitrose and growers was highlighted when tropical storm Lilli caused a significant amount of damage to the banana crop in the islands. To support our growers, we funded the emergency fertiliser supplies required to restore the farms to full output as quickly as possible.

And in February 2004, Waitrose in Wokingham played host to a visit by the Prime Minister of St Lucia, Hon. Dr Kenny Anthony and Prime Minister of St Vincent & the Grenadines, Hon. Dr Ralph E Gonsalves, who met customers and saw for themselves how bananas grown and picked in the Windward Islands end their journey in Waitrose.

Try these banana recipes: