AUSTRALIAN BANANAS ARE GOING 'GREEN'

PACIFIC COAST ECO BANANAS
Established 1999

As a family owned Australian banana farming business we are marketing an exciting and very different banana product that the Australian public wants to see in the marketplace.

The fruit, known as the 'Wax Tip Eco-Banana' is both the creation and passion of banana farmers Frank and Dianne Sciacca of Pacific Coast Produce, located near Innisfail in the heart of Queensland's banana growing region.

As progressive farmers we questioned how and why we were farming the way we did and how could our farm (the soil) be commercially viable in twenty years time. For the past 8 years we have strived to achieve Integrated Ecological Management in our farm production systems thus improving the environmental health of the farm. To achieve this Integrated Ecological Management has meant a significant reduction in the use of Synthetic Fertiliser and Agrichemical inputs, thus leading the way to producing an Eco Banana.

This has also meant that our farm is no longer production driven but achieves eco outcomes set down in our Environmental Management System. Although the changes to our production systems were long, slow but carefully planned ones, there were never any guarantees that these newly implemented environmentally friendly systems would be economically viable. Ultimately it is the consumer who will determine this.

After the satisfactory production of Pacific Coast Eco-Bananas had been achieved, the product needed to be identified. The Pacific Coast Eco-Banana needed to look 'different' from other banana products so that buyers could easily recognise the fruit. To achieve this a distinctive trademark ™ identification, or the 'Red Tip' was developed.

Pacific Coast Eco-Bananas are dipped in a bright red, green and blue food grade wax at the time of packing on the farm. This gives the ripened product a very distinctive and attractive appearance. Buyers fascinated by the look of the fruit are then able to access point-of-sale flyers and promotional material, which describes the ecological aspects of how the product is grown.

To find out where you can purchase Wax Tip Pacific Coast Eco-Bananas please go to 'Where to Buy'.

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