FDBusiness.com

Keelings, the Irish-owned family business, has acquired Las Brisas, a pineapple farm located in Costa Rica that is highly acclaimed for its product quality and community initiatives. Las Brisas is a significant operation with over 900 hectares of land, 460 employees and a modern pack-house producing over 24 million pineapples each year.

Keelings has been strategically aligned with Las Brisas for the last number of years and has been successfully producing Zero Residue Pineapples for the last 12 months. Costa Rica is also the home of Pura Vida melon farm in Nicoya, where Keelings has a 50:50 joint venture.

The Las Brisas farm is the first certified pineapple farm in the world to produce and export pesticide-free pineapples. The Costa Rican Pineapple Export Auditor (CANAPEP) recently awarded Las Brisas the title of Number One Pineapple Farm in Costa Rica for sustainable environmental practices, food safety, and staff welfare.

Caroline Keeling, CEO of Keelings Fruits, says: “This acquisition further demonstrates our commitment at Keelings to both growing and sourcing quality fruit in the best way possible. We are delighted to welcome the Las Brisas colleagues to the Keelings family of companies. Their ethos and sustainability commitments in production and in local community activities are values we both share. We are very excited about the potential this partnership with Las Brisas will bring.”

Keelings International and its subsidiary, Keelings Fresh International, grow, source, category manage, pack and distribute fresh fruit, and salads, supplying the UK, EU, Middle East, and the Far East.

Las Brisas is the only pineapple farm in the world that has achieved the Rain Forest Grade A accreditation on all of its products resulting from its focus on sustainably. Beyond its significant impact on local employment, Las Brisas has also taken steps to improve its community. The farm has donated land for the development of a local park and a soccer pitch to improve the community’s amenities. Las Brisas has also contributed to the regeneration of local infrastructure, including the repair of roads and bridges, and providing supplies and money to schools in the vicinity.

The Pineapples from Las Brisas will be sold into all major European markets and the United States.