By KHT Staff. Image courtesy of Kaohsiung Agricultural Bureau.
KAOHSIUNG — Buying bananas can mean racing to finish the bunch before they all become overripe. A Kaohsiung-backed brand is taking a different approach: packing bananas at three stages of ripeness together so shoppers can eat them over several days.
Taiwan BanaNova (台灣蕉新星) introduced the mixed-ripeness box and a separate two-banana pack at a Nov. 5 launch in Kaohsiung, announcing its first entry into the Wanjiafu (萬家福) hypermarket chain, according to the Central News Agency.
The brand was developed by the Jingjie Fruit and Vegetable Cooperative (境界果菜生產合作社) with support from the Kaohsiung Agriculture Bureau (高雄市政府農業局). It had already entered retail channels in Singapore earlier this year.
The mixed-ripeness product, called 蕉點日曆—a banana-themed play on “calendar”—lets buyers start with the ripest fruit and save the greener bananas for later. Its packaging also includes collectible character stickers and an accompanying collection poster, Liberty Times reported.
The other product, 天選香蕉, comes in packs of two. According to the bureau, it uses a patented cultivation method intended to increase soil organic matter and improve the soil’s capacity to retain water and store carbon. The launch reports did not provide measurements of those environmental benefits.
The two products approach banana sales from different angles: one emphasizes cultivation, while the other changes how people select and package fruit for everyday eating.
