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n LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS
Just how popular are berries? Consider the growth of the blueberry.
Victoria De Bruin, marketing manager of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council, says U.S. per capita consumption of blueberries grew 600 percent between 1994 and 2014, the best of any fruit or vegetable.
She notes that the Council’s Consumer Usage & Attitude Study conducted in the latter half of 2017 indicates that 75 percent of Americans were on the path to buying blueberries — a 10 percent increase from a study conducted four years earlier.
“The USHBC has shifted from studying usage and attitudes from every four years to every two, so we’re eager to see the latest in 2019,” says De Bruin.
A steady, year-round flow of fresh blue- berries entering supermarkets is helping those sales, she notes. The North American season starts in April and continues through September, with product from South America taking its place on shelves from October through March.
“Right now, while enjoying quality fresh product from Chile, Peru and other coun- tries, our Blueberry Council members in the southern states are gearing up for their 2019 harvest,” says De Bruin. “The 2018 crop was on par with the prior year, with nearly 700,000 pounds of fresh and processed high- bush blueberries in North America.”
According to De Bruin, the initial data from Nielsen Perishables Group for 2018 is showing blueberries also had a great year.
“Total fruit sales were up by only 0.8 percent compared to 2017, but the blue- berry industry generated figures far above that across volume, dollars and per capita — dollars — sold,” she says. “The population numbers used to calculate per capita come from the U.S. Census Bureau and take into account U.S. residents.”
Those numbers indicate volume is up 5.2 percent, while dollars have increased 9.3 percent, and per capita dollars are up 8.6 percent.
Cindy Jewell, vice president of marketing for California Giant Berry Farms, headquar- tered in Watsonville, CA, says the company offers four types of berries: strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries.
“Research shows the entire category is growing, but within the berry category, blueberries continue to see the greatest increase in sales and volume behind straw- berries,” says Jewell. “Strawberries are the
leader, with the highest consumption rate and longest maturity on a nationwide basis with year-round availability. However, blue- berry consumption has really grown due to the health attributes associated with them. Blackberries and raspberries are also gaining every year in popularity and consumption as they shift from being a ‘special occasion’ item to an everyday fruit.”
Christine Christian, senior vice president of the California Strawberry Commission, based in Watsonville, CA, says strawberries lead the berry category with 63 percent of volume sales and 45 percent of dollar sales. And it seems people can’t get enough of them.
“There is a shift to increased purchases of larger package sizes, especially the 2-pound [32 ounces] clamshell, especially during peak California strawberry season from April through September,” says Christian.
Michelle Deleissegues, marketing director for Red Blossom, headquartered in Los Olivos, CA, says this is an exciting time for berries because they are almost always in demand and consumers’ desire for berries does not diminish, but only grows.
“Red Blossom has steadily increased production in southern regions to meet increasing demand in winter and early spring from our customers,” says Deleissegues. pb
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