Press Release
Barnana snack foods now available in the Good Bumblebee marketplace!
Lewisville, Texas; August 19, 2019 – Good Bumblebee president Gina Smith recently announced, “It’s official… We’re going Barnanas!” Impactful? Yummy? Fun? Gina’s announcement regarding the new Barnana/Good Bumblebee partnership qualifies as all three. Gina noted that she discovered Barnana products by accident. “While on a grocery trip at a neighborhood health food store, I saw something on the shelf called “Banana Brittle.” Then I saw it’s peanut butter-flavored Banana Brittle and I knew immediately that it was going in my cart. I don't eat a lot of sweets, but every now and then I like to have something slightly sweet to snack on with some hot tea. Upon tasting the first square of brittle, it quickly became one of my favorite snacks. Almost like a graham cracker - but banana flavored!”
The Barnana team is on a mission to end food waste on organic banana farms by upcycling the bananas that typically go to waste. Grocery stores and many consumers want fruits and vegetables that are cosmetically pleasing. When “imperfect” bananas have scuffs, are a little too ripe, or aren’t the perfect size – they are typically rejected for export. According to Barnana, farmers lose up to 20% of their bananas because their bananas are not “perfect.” Barnana takes those bananas, which are still delicious, and turns them into snacks. Gina reflected on her grocery store discovery, “I read the back of the package where I learned that the company uses “ugly” bananas and plantains for their snacks, fruit that was going to be thrown away and I was very intrigued.”
Gina and team are constantly looking for innovative products and companies with purpose to feature on the Good Bumblebee marketplace. This initial discovery was the preliminary cue to dig a little deeper and conduct more research. Gina stated, “I started looking more into Barnana to see if it was a brand we might like to carry on Good Bumblebee. I saw that they are a B Corp and also a 1% for the Planet participant. I read that they had upcycled 13 million kilos of bananas and plantains that otherwise would have been wasted. I was then exposed to the company’s crazy fun, uplifting culture while getting to know them and I was very impressed.”
Gina ended the interview by stating, “With Barnana we’ve found a company with purpose, great tasting natural food products, and lots of positive energy… It turns out that they’re exactly the kind of partner Good Bumblebee looks for!”
About Barnana
On a hot summer day in 1981, architect Joao Suplicy took home a large broken skylight from a construction project in the hills of Curitiba, Brasil. Suplicy woke the next morning and discovered that all the grass beneath the skylight had died. This simple, unintentional experiment sparked an idea that started as a personal hobby and continued on as a family tradition.
From this simple revelation, Joao constructed a natural dehydrator and tested it with fresh, peeled bananas. After just five days he had raw, organic, dehydrated bananas that tasted sweet and lasted for months. To their delight, Joao shared the organic bananas with his family and friends, but perhaps the biggest fan of all was his eldest son, Caue. In 2001, Caue relocated to Southern California to commence his career as a professional triathlete. The Suplicy family tradition of creating organic chewy bananas carried on, as he shared the banana superfood with his friends and fellow athletes across the country.
In 2010, company founders Caue Suplicy, Nik Ingersöll and Matt Clifford decided to share the super banana snack with the world and embark on a journey that would soon become Barnana.
About Good Bumblebee
Good Bumblebee is a company dedicated to being a force for good in the world and a source of positive energy. Using a business partner selection process that begins with an evaluation of core goals focused on people, planet, and animals, the Good Bumblebee team seeks out good people, high-quality products, and companies with values that promote wholesomeness and sustainability.
Good Bumblebee provides:
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A marketplace for consumers who want to support companies with purpose, companies who are actively working to create good vibes and positive energy
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A community of people and businesses supporting each other with high-quality products, fair pricing, and honest business practices
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A platform for promoting ideas, people, products, and actions that can improve the lives of others and make the world a better place
The Good Bumblebee online marketplace provides consumers with alternative choices to those found in large Fortune 1000 companies. Focusing primarily on small and cottage businesses, the Good Bumblebee team identifies notable companies, tells their stories, and helps them grow. For more information visit https://goodbumblebee.com.
“When you buy from a small business, an actual person does a little happy dance."