Standard
Fruit Company - (en)
Now named Dole Food Company, Standard Fruit Company was established in
1924 by The Vaccaro Brothers. Its forerunner was started in 1899, when
Sicilian immigrants Joseph, Luca and Felix Vaccaro, together with
Salvador D'Antoni, began importing bananas to New Orleans from La
Ceiba, Honduras. By 1915 the business had grown so large that it
bought most of the ice factories in New Orleans, in order to
refrigerate its banana ships, leading to its president Joseph Vaccaro
becoming known as the "Ice King".
Along with the United Fruit Company, Standard Fruit played a
significant role in the governments of Honduras and other Central
American countries, which became known as "banana republics"
because of the highly favorable treatment the fruit companies were
given.
In 1926 the company changed its name from Standard Fruit Company to
Standard Fruit & Steamship Company. Between 1964 and 1968 the
company was acquired by the Castle & Cooke Corporation. Castle
& Cooke was renamed Dole Food Company, Inc. in 1991. Castle &
Cooke Inc, a real estate company, was spun off in 1995 and now
separately listed.
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