Dole Food Company - Definition and Overview

Dole Food Company, Inc., is a Honolulu-based agricultural multinational corporation and is the leading grower and packer of such food items as banana, nuts, pineapple and other fresh fruits and vegetables. It was founded in 1851 as Hawaiian Pineapple Company by James Dole, who opened his first pineapple plantation in the central plateau of the Hawaiian island of Oahu. Today the company does business in over 90 countries and takes in upwards of US$48 billion in annual revenue.

The Hawaiian Pineapple Company was later acquired by Castle & Cooke, which was renamed Dole Food Company, Inc in 1991. Castle & Cooke Inc, a real estate company, was spun off in 1995 and now separately listed. Dole incorporates the Standard Fruit Company, which was acquired by Castle & Cooke between 1964 and 1968. It was then the USA's second largest producer and importer of bananas. Dole and Chiquita remain the top two U.S. banana companies.

Resources

• Dole Food Company, Inc. (http://www.dole.com/index.jsp)
• Yahoo! - Dole Food Company, Inc. Company Profile (http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/10/10303.html)