The certification, obtained for the first time, guarantees flavour, quality, freshness, and food safety of the bananas sold at SPAR Gran Canaria stores. This step reflects the retailer’s continuous improvement strategy which has contributed to SPAR Gran Canaria maintaining its position as the market leader in the fruit and vegetable segment.
The bananas are obtained from producers who appreciate SPAR Gran Canaria’s commitment to ‘Kilómetro 0’, which boosts the local economy by promoting local produce.
SPAR Gran Canaria buys bananas directly from local farmers and carries out the controlled ripening process themselves. This approach allows the retailer to speed up or slow down the ripening process depending on product demand, thus helping minimise food waste. The process involves the control and measurement of various parameters such as temperature, humidity, and the composition of the air contained in the chambers.
Furthermore, the bananas are stored, transported, and distributed in returnable crates. The crates are designed to reduce possible damage to the product, offer optimal ventilation and facilitate an efficient and homogeneous ripening process. SPAR Gran Canaria purchased around 2 million kilograms of bananas in the last year.
The bananas are ripened at the logistics division of SPAR’s fruit and vegetable centre in Mercalaspalmas. More than 140,000 kilograms of fresh fruit and vegetables are received onsite there every day, of which more than 55% are obtained directly from local suppliers.
Source: SPAR Gran Canaria
Read more about SPAR in Spain.
SPAR Spain was founded in 1959 when a group of wholesalers who wished to join an international organisation came together. As a result, the brand became the first voluntary trading chain to be established in Spain.
The head office is in Barcelona. It provides buying, marketing, communications, and brand support to the 13 regional partners. Together, the SPAR operators actively continue the expansion of the brand across the country.
