The Banana Factory saves 20 million bananas from waste

Every year, 255,000 tons of edible bananas end up in European incinerators. In many cases, these bananas are still perfectly suitable for consumption, but are rejected because they ripen too quickly during transport. The Banana Factory aims to tackle that problem at its source. The company processes rejected bananas into banana puree for the food industry.

From rejected banana to raw material

Since opening its factory in 2023, The Banana Factory says it has saved 20 million bananas from destruction. The rejected fruit is processed into banana puree for food manufacturers.

This gives a by-product stream from the banana supply chain a new purpose. Sister company Bakers & Bananas uses the puree in consumer products. The range includes banana bread, American cookies and granola. The products are available at more than 1,500 points of sale. These include major retail chains, foodservice businesses and airlines.

Partnership with banana traders

The Banana Factory works with major banana traders, including Fyffes and Chiquita. They supply surplus bananas to the factory for processing. According to the company, these bananas were previously destroyed. Now, traders pay to have these residual streams processed into banana puree.

The company says demand for processing capacity exceeds its current capacity. At present, the factory processes 2,000 tons of bananas per year.

Ambition of 22,000 tons per year

CEO Laura Hoogland sees significant growth potential ahead. “Twenty million bananas sounds like a lot, and it is. But with a current processing capacity of 2,000 tons per year, we are utilizing less than one percent of the available potential. That number motivates us every single day. We still have a long way to go.”

The Banana Factory aims to increase its capacity to 22,000 tons per year by 2028. The expansion is expected to be financed through a €10 million Series A funding round. The funding round is expected to be completed by the end of 2026. As a first step, SUNT Groep is launching a sharefunding campaign through the Broccoli platform. The goal is to raise €750,000 through a convertible loan.

Bakers-bananas.com