Banania brand

History

During a visit to Nicaragua in 1912, the journalist Pierre Lardet discovered the recipe for a cocoa-based drink. When he returned to Paris, he started its commercial fabrication. In 1914, he registered several names for the new product, one of which was Banania, along with the drawing of the West Indian who would appear on the Banania containers.

At the outset of World War I, the popularity of the colonial troops at the time led to the replacement of the West Indian by the now more familiar jolly Senegalese infantry man enjoying Banania. Pierre Lardet took it upon himself to distribute the product to the Army, using the line pour nos soldats la nourriture abondante qui se conserve sous le moindre volume possible ("for our soldiers: the abundant food which keeps, using the least possible space").

The brands's yellow background underlines the banana ingredient, and the Senagalese infantryman's red and blue uniform make up the other two main colours. The slogan Y'a bon ("It's good") derives from the pidgin French supposedly used by these soldiers (it is, in fact, an invention). Slowly but surely, the slogan and the character became inseparable as the expression was coined: l'ami y'a bon ("the y'a bon buddy").

The form of the character has since evolved, so that now all that remains is the name.

In the 1970s and early 1980s, Banania sponsored the yellow jersey of the Tour De France.

The advertising slogans and images have been labelled racist and colonialist by some who argue that it reinforces the old cliché of a friendly yet stupid African. Some French black people connect this hate with aggressive colonialist policy in Africa of the global group Unilever, the old unique owner of the brand.

In France the Banania brand is now owned by the newly founded French company Nutrimaine, who acquired it from Unilever in 2003.

Other uses of the brand Banania

In the United Kingdom, Hispaniola Brands Limited is legally using the brand name Banania and the old French label (exactly with the same appearance as it was in 1914) for an alcoholic product made from distilled bananas. Hispaniola is the first Company to make investment on the registration of the community trademarks on its brand "Banania". Also this company possess the package of valid national trademarks confirming its legal rights.

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