P.M. BRIEFING : Chiquita: Soon a Corporate Word

Chiquita bananas, the product that inspired the term “banana republic” when owner United Brands abetted the overthrow of various Latin American countries, will finally take over as the corporate name of United Brands.

Chiquita Brands International Inc. will replace United Brands Co. as the name of the company on March 20, United Brands said today.

United Brands is the largest marketer of fresh fruit and vegetable products.

It was the latest in a series of name changes for the company that began as Boston Fruit Co. more than a century ago, when it sailed into Boston Harbor with its exotic cargo of bananas.

Later, as United Fruit Co., it protected its virtual worldwide monopoly in banana marketing by acquiring its biggest competitors and involving itself deeply in Latin American politics. Its banana boats were sometimes pressed into service by forces loyal to the largest landholder in Central America.

But to advertising people, United Fruit’s biggest coup was the creation of the Chiquita brand, using the highly visible and suggestive Miss Chiquita television advertisements in the 1950s to create one of the best-known labels.

“I’m Chiquita banana and I’m here to reveal,” she sang. A version of the song became a hit record.