Who Supplies Costco's Bananas?

When it comes to ticking off the recommended five-a-day, no fruit works harder than the humble banana. Whether you're slicing them to upgrade a rubbly pile of plain granola, blending them into morning smoothies, or flambéing them for a pancake topping, have you ever wondered what company actually supplies the fruit at a store like Costco? It turns out the bright yellow (and sometimes green) bunches you see come from a variety of farms, not just one single supplier.

It's perhaps unsurprising the countries mostly responsible for keeping Costco in bananas are a lineup of tropical hotspots, including Peru, Ecuador, Costa Rica, and Guatemala. These Central and South American countries have the ideal blend of rainfall, heat, and banana-friendly soil, as well as the large plantations needed to produce such volume. In this environment, banana bulbs can flourish into flowers and eventually be harvested.

The final player to know about is Equifruit. The Montreal-based fair-trade banana company is also on Costco's roster of suppliers for organic and fair-trade bananas. But there isn't any kind of exclusivity deal in place; Equifruit also supplies this hardy little fruit to Walmart and Pattison Food Group, too. Once packed in temperature-controlled containers, they take a long route of just over 1,100 miles from Costa Rica to Miami, Florida (per Iowa State University).  

Bananas have a bad rep as a produce item you should never buy from Costco. The main problem being the temperamental business of ripeness. Some Reddit users complained, "They are hard as rocks." Others agreed, "They just ... stayed green. Then, a few days ago, they suddenly went brown. There was no in between." These criticisms make sense given bananas are sensitive to heat. By delaying the ripening process so they can be transported, bunches can end up behaving strangely and ripening at erratic rates due to temperature fluctuations.

But it's not just the will-they-won't-they ripen aspect of Costco bananas that gets criticized, it's the bundle size, too. Unlike with other stores where you can simply tear off the quantity you want, Costco sells its bananas in unwieldy three-pound clumps that are either banded or packaged. This can lead to wastage as customers run out of ways to use their haul. It's worth knowing, though, that green bananas are safe to eat. There are also some handy hacks for baking with underripe bananas — like adding a drop of milk for moisture and some maple syrup and cinnamon for flavor — if you're overwhelmed with too big of a bundle after your next Costco shop.