Ever wanted to draw a personalized face on a banana and send it to a loved one, but were just too busy?
Well, if so, you’re in luck, because Davonte Wilson of Plano, Texas has started a business designed to cater specifically to this market.
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Wilson’s Bananas Gone Wild website is projected to bring in $100,000 in business this year, and it all began with his quirky habit of drawing faces on bananas while he was studying to become an EKG technician, according to NBC Dallas Fort Worth affiliate NBCDFW.
While the custom banana service seems to be taking off, Wilson’s creations were, like so many visionary works, initially met with ridicule. “People would walk by my desk area and say, ‘What are you doing drawing on bananas?’ I kind of get made fun of,” he told NBCDFW.
Instead of giving in to the ridicule, Wilson took it to the next level and started applying glitter, sunglasses, and, his personal favourite, beards to his creations. “I’ve always had a creative side,” he said. But Wilson’s site also allows customers to flex their own creative muscle and design their own bananas.
For the time being, Wilson works out of his apartment, where he cranks out up to 75 bananas per day, and then ships them out to lucky recipients whose loved ones opted for customized bananas instead of handwritten letters.
The website even features reviews from satisfied customers, like “You guys are like the Mr. Potato Head, except with bananas [Air-five],” “This is the funniest thing I’ve seen in a long time Haha! Thanks Dad!,” and “Dave, you repay your debts by sending me an evil banana with a beard? You’re lucky it looks like me ;)”
Not bad for a guy who started off doodling on fruits before class. “I’m in shock that you can just take something so simple and introduce it into the world and people love it.”
At a minimum of ten dollars a pop, it’s safe to say that these little works of art do not reflect the true value of a banana, but the free market has clearly determined that a banana with a beard is no mere banana.
