It’s big, it’s yellow and you may have seen it peeling around town last week.
Yellofruit's Big Banana Car was turning heads in Newmarket as it arrived to promote the most appealing treat of the summer.
Sponsored by Yellofruit non-dairy frozen banana dessert, the single-file, four-seater giant banana on wheels is emblazoned with the Yellofruit logo for its first trip to Canada.
Travelling to festivals, participating retailers and tourist attractions across Ontario, including Windsor, London, Kitchener-Waterloo, Niagara Falls, Hamilton and Toronto, The Big Banana Car is a selfie magnet.
Yellofruit™ is a frozen dessert unlike anything else on the market, co-founder Andrew Kinnear said, while dishing out samples beside the water feature at Riverwalk Commons last Friday.
“It’s going like crazy,” the Orillia resident said of the plant-based treat that entered the market last April at a time when vegan food and beverages are the hottest trend going.
Kinnear and his wife, Claire Lysnes, conceived and developed the product with their three children in mind — feeding kids delicious food that is a little better for them and the planet.
Canada’s fastest growing non-dairy frozen dessert brand ticks all the boxes for health-conscious consumers, it uses organic, non-GMO, plant-based ingredients, is kosher and is made in a peanut-free facility in Ontario, Kinnear said.
The three flavours carry their children’s names, in honour of their favourite flavour: Monty's Favourite Strawberry, Holly's Favourite Mango and Eddy's Favourite Chocolate.
It tastes like a creamy premium ice cream, without the cream, and is loaded with fruit and flavour.
It’s neither icy like conventional all-fruit or sorbet desserts, nor chalky or dry like some nut milk or coconut products. And it definitely doesn’t carry a premium ice cream price, Kinnear added, “It’s $5.99 at FreshCo.”
Now back to the Big Banana Car.
Steve Braithwaite, a native of England now living in Michigan, built the banana on wheels to, admittedly, be ridiculous.
Having a silly pompadour haircut for many years was simply not enough, so he had to think big. "What sort of car would the most ridiculous man in the world drive?" he asked himself one day, "I know, a banana car."
With a sense of fun as big as the banana he drives around in, he likes to don a safari hat and go by the moniker “Magnificent Steve”.
He said he loves the attention that the Big Banana Car attracts, and he exhibits endless patience with the children — and adults — who clamour for a photo or a chance to sit at the wheel.
The Big Banana Car is based on a 1993 Ford F-150 pick up truck and is still a 4X4, according to Braithwaite.
Want to photograph Yellofruit’s Big Banana Car, book a visit to your event or office, or maybe even book a ride, contact [email protected].
Yellofruit is available in nearly 600 stores now. Find a store using the store locator. For more, visit yellofruit.com
