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says Richardson. “Our primary supply partner is coming into greater production and continues to plant another 200 hectares this year, including what will be a solid amount of organic.”
e bene t of importing blueberries from Mexico is a competitive advantage in fresh- ness, according to Driscoll’s Cotton. “Trans- port from eld to retail is a two- to ve-day truck ride rather than two weeks on a boat from South America.”
Family Tree Farms projects year-over- year volumes will be up 30 percent for its
upcoming Mexican blueberry season.
“We export around 90 percent of our Mexican-grown blueberries to the United States, but we see increased global demand for this production window,” says Ruvalcaba. North America is the largest blueberry export market for Chile, with 64 percent (70,904 tons) of all volume shipped to this market last season from November to March, according to Karen Brux, the San Carlos, CA-based North American managing director
for the Chilean Fresh Fruit Association. “With organic produce consumption
PHOTO COURTESY OF CHILEAN BLUEBERRY COMMITTEE
continuing to increase, we’re also seeing increased production of organic blueberries from Chile. During the 2017-18 season, 12 percent of the total Chilean blueberry volume shipped to North America was organic. In terms of anticipated volumes for 2018-19, we expect numbers like last year,” says Brux.
Nearly 99 percent of imported raspberries arrive from Mexico, while this country also supplies more than 96 percent of blackberries to the United States with some 3 percent from Guatemala, according to USDA ERS data. is window runs from September to early June.
“Mexican raspberries and blackberries have been fairly at as growers replace older varieties with new ones that will deliver better quality and avor,” says Naturipe’s Roberts.
More volume has meant larger package sizes of o shore berries.
“ e dominant pack for imported straw- berries is still the 1-pound clamshell, but the 2-pound pack has shown strong growth over the past few years, with many retailers looking to carry both pack sizes as supply will allow,” says Roberts.
On blueberries, says Gourmet Trading’s Fiszman, “Years ago, fall was dominated by 4.4-ounce clamshells. Now it is dominated by 6-ounce. We’ll start to see more pints earlier than in years past. More retailers are promoting the 18-ounce.” pb
n BOOST SALES IN STORE January is almost as important as July to
promote berries as is July for some retailers. “We run berry promotions right after the New Year when everyone is thinking about getting back to the gym and eating more healthfully,” says Richard Stiles, director of produce and oral for Redner’s Markets, a Reading, PA-based chain with 44 markets and 13 quick shoppes in Penn-
sylvania, Maryland and Delaware.
Last year, Redner’s partnered with the Chilean Blueberry Committee in a sales- and-display contest for produce managers. ere were three additional elements to the 14-day promotion. First, Chilean blueber- ries were advertised in the store’s circular at 2 pints for $5. Secondly, the chain’s regis- tered dietitian created a video that showed how to make a chicken blueberry salad. ird, Redner’s ran a Facebook contest that asked shoppers to submit a photo of how blueberries helped them to keep their New Year’s resolutions. Shoppers who did
were entered into a drawing to win $100 cash as part of Redner’s reward program to purchase fresh produce in-store.
“In the past, many retailers have had to decrease the size and SKU count of their winter berry displays, which resulted in reduced sales and customer penetration,” says Jim Roberts, vice president of sales for Naturipe Farms, headquartered in Naples, FL. “With all the new options, we can support bigger displays, more promotions and better consumer messaging, both in terms of in-store point-of-sale, as well as digital and social media platforms.”
Increasing promotional frequency is a strong tool many retailers use to drive growth in the category.
“Our goal is to always be ahead of the peak production periods and organize and initiate promotions before they peak rather than right at the time a production peak starts,” says Craig Casca, chief executive and owner of Red Blossom, Los Olivos,
CA. “ is enables the grower and retailer to create prolonged enthusiasm and excite- ment at the retail level, greater values for consumers as well as create smooth chan- nels to move any extra production so that product quality and freshness is maximized.”
Price is now driven more by availability of supply than by where the berries are grown, according to importers.
“Actually, price on winter berries is more accessible than in the spring when some states produce fruit,” says Luciano Fiszman, blueberry categroy manager for Groumet Trading Company, Redondo Beach, CA. “Price in the fall is probably the highest right now, but the di erence is not as much as some years ago. With the entrance of Peru and Mexico, pricing will get atter a lot quicker. is will allow fruit to be less expensive to consumers, and therefore more consumption will take place these months that are not as traditional as others — for now, that is.” pb
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