The Natural Choice: The Windward Islands of Dominica, St. Lucia, St Vincent and Grenada in the Eastern Caribbean are among the most beautiful islands in the world. Between the volcanic peaks and white sandy beaches, the island's hills and valleys are home to primary rainforests and protected nature reserves. This tropical landscape is also dotted with small farms whose volcanic soil, rich in potash, produces the delicious tasting bananas for which these islands have been famous for over 50 years.

The people of the Windward Islands are naturally friendly and take great pride in the fact that their banana industry has become part of the fabric of the life of the Islands. It is not surprising that, alongside bananas, the other major source of foreign exchange for the Islands is tourism. These two industries, banana cultivation and tourism, coexist in a nature-friendly environment.

Naturally Grown: The Windward Islands Banana Industry works in harmony with nature because the farmers care for the Islands' environment. While the banana disease Black Sigatokia can only be controlled by the intensive use of fungicide, they use minimum amounts of inputs and ensure that the rivers and streams remain clear and clean. The average size of banana farms in the Windward Islands is only 1 hectare, but this supports the grower and his or her family. These growers tend their bananas by hand, all the way from planting to harvesting. The care they take in growing contributes to the distinctive taste of Windward Isles Bananas.

Naturally Delicious: The Windward Islands offer a unique environment for banana production. The steep hillsides, volcanic soil and low rainfall mean banana plants take longer to establish themselves and the fruit matures more slowly. When these factors are combined with minimum usage of inputs, the resulting bananas are smaller and tastier than those grown elsewhere under less nature-friendly conditions. This makes the Windward Isles product a preferred choice.

Naturally Controlled: The Windward Islands Banana Industry is self-regulated through a Certified Grower Programme. The programme's code of practice covers all aspects of production, from planting, growing and harvesting to environment and labour practices. It monitors the fields and practices of the growers to ensure compliance with EUREP GAP requirements. This, in turn, ensures the growers meet the high technical specifications of supermarket customers.

Naturally Ethical: Windward Islands Bananas are among the most ethically grown in the world. Growers own the land on which they grow their bananas and the Certified Grower Programme guarantees them a fair return for their product. The growers are the beneficial owners of the Windward Islands Banana & Development Company (WIBDECO), with no third party shareholders to benefit from their efforts. The Independent Fairtrade movement has confirmed that the prices received by certified growers in the Windward Islands exceed minimum Fairtrade standards. As a result, the Windward Islands are set to become the single most important source of Fairtrade Bananas in the world.

Integrated Supply Chain- Naturally: From the Windward Islands, state of the art refrigerated reefer ships guarantee year-round weekly supplies to the UK. The ships dock alongside purpose-built temperature controlled banana handling and storage facilities. From there, nature-perfect bananas are transported to strategically located ripening centres around the country. Once ripened, to each customer's exact specification, the fruit is distributed to retailers on a daily basis.