In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Bruce Popko, chief executive officer of Major League Pickleball. Popko discusses the growth of pickleball, the professional league that he leads, and why blueberries and pickleball belong on the same court together. The USHBC is thrilled to be one of the first sponsors of Major League Pickleball, joining some of the world’s largest and most recognizable brands in leveraging pickleball’s unique consumer reach.

“The cool part is that inherently you've got a fun fruit and we've got a fun experience. So smashing those together in meaningful ways… I think there's just a lot of fun to be had in the relationship.” - Bruce Popko

Topics covered include:

• An introduction to Popko.
• A description of the meteoric growth pickleball has experienced and the continued growth it’s expected to achieve.
• An explanation of how pickleball aligns with USHBC’s mission to make blueberries the world’s favorite fruit!

Crop Report

The Blueberry Crop Report is an update on crop conditions and markets throughout important blueberry growing areas. You’ll hear from Brittany Lee in Florida, Jody McPherson in North Carolina, Elise Oliver in California, TJ Hafner in Oregon and Luis Vegas in Peru. This was recorded on April 11, 2024.

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Steve Magami, co-founder and executive chair of AgroVision, a vertically integrated grower, packer, shipper and marketer of blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and table grapes. Recently having celebrated its 10-year anniversary, Agrovision is one of the world’s fastest growing producers and year-round supplier of superfruits, with nearly $300 million in sales. Magami first appeared on “The Business of Blueberries” in episode 115.

“We've been on a mission to transform lives while we evolve in our journey to inspire consumers to live a more nutritious and healthy lifestyle. As I look back, I’m proud of our commitment to sustainability and the impact we've made, proud of our commitment to quality and the impact we've made on consumers, and I think we've just scratched the surface. It's already showing me the impact we can make together as an industry if we put the right quality on the shelf consistently through the year.” – Steve Magami

Topics covered include:

• An introduction to Magami and his work.
• A discussion of the reach, growth and success of AgroVision in securing global markets in the berry and table grape industry.
• An exploration of the obstacles to different berry varieties and AgroVision’s response.

Crop Report

The Blueberry Crop Report is an update on crop conditions and markets throughout important blueberry growing areas. Today, you’ll hear from Brittany Lee in Florida, Jody McPherson in North Carolina, Brody Schropp in Michigan, Derrin Wheeler in Georgia, Luis Vegas in Peru and Mario Ramirez in Mexico. This was recorded on April 4, 2024.

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by David Jackson, founder of Family Tree Farms, alongside his sons and son-in-law. Today, they’re a family-owned fruit grower, packer and shipper based in Reedley, California, with additional locations in Peru, Mexico, and Africa. Jackson serves on the NABC Board of Directors and the United Blueberry Advisory Committee, and joins us to share his perspectives on quality, flavor, genetics, marketing and the future of our industry.

“Our mission statement is to consistently produce, package and market the most flavorful fruit in the world. We say that because we know who we sell to, but we always keep in mind that our end customer is that consumer, that person, who puts that fruit in their mouth and says, ‘Wow, that's the most flavorful thing. That's the best thing I've ever eaten.’ We have chosen to differentiate ourselves with flavor, and that comes down to just genetics.” – David Jackson

Topics covered include:

• An introduction to Jackson and Family Tree Farms.
• An exploration of Jackson’s blueberry operation and how they pursue it from the soil up through genetics.
• A discussion of Family Tree Farms’ journey in the blueberry industry over the years, the challenges they’ve faced and the changes they’ve made.

Crop Report

The Blueberry Crop Report is an update on crop conditions and markets throughout important blueberry growing areas. You’ll hear from Brittany Lee in Florida, Mario Ramirez in Mexico and Daniel Bustamante in Peru. This was recorded on March 14, 2024.

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Jorge Andres Varela, president of Agroberries. Agroberries is a vertically integrated berry producer and marketer with a large worldwide presence and a portfolio of exclusive proprietary genetic varieties. Varela discusses their expansion with Berry Fresh, a marketing arm in the Americas, as well as their recent investment in BerryWorld.

“We have to be united. There's sometimes a little bit of tension between different growing regions, but finally, we're all looking for the same thing. We're looking to increase consumption, to offer a better product to consumers, and I think we have to work together. … An industry that works together is going to be much more successful than everyone doing their own thing on their own.” – Jorge Andres Varela

Topics covered include:

• An introduction to Varela.
• The expansion and growth of Agroberries, Berry Fresh and the recent investment they’ve made in BerryWorld.
• Varela’s take on expanding the value, quality and consumption of blueberries worldwide.

Crop Report

The Blueberry Crop Report is an update on crop conditions and markets throughout important blueberry growing areas. You’ll hear from Derrin Wheeler in Georgia, Brittany Lee in Florida and Daniel Bustamante in Peru. This was recorded on March 7, 2024.

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Ryan Ellison, produce category manager at Food City, and Joshua Essenburg, category manager at SpartanNash. Both of these retailers participated in a panel at the Blueberry Summit in Savannah last fall where they discussed “Insights and Opportunities for Selling Fresh Blueberries in Retail.” Together, they discuss the opportunity and potential they see in the blueberry market from the perspective of a retailer.

“Our cross-merchandising on blueberries has really evolved a lot and, as that's evolved, so has the way we advertise them and promote them.” - Joshua Essenburg

 Topics covered include: 

• An introduction to Ellison and Essenburg and their work. 
• A discussion of the potential these retailers see in the blueberry industry and the many uses for blueberries that customers can enjoy.
• Strategies and encouragement retailers can use to support blueberry consumption. 

Visit blueberryevents.org to learn more and register for the Blueberry Convention, Feb. 28- March 1 in Tucson, Arizona. 

Crop Report

The Blueberry Crop Report is an update on crop conditions and markets throughout important blueberry growing areas. You’ll hear from Daniel Bustamante in Peru and Mario Ramirez in Mexico. This was recorded on February 15, 2024. 

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by USHBC Chair Shelly Hartmann. As lifelong residents of Southwest Michigan, Shelly and Dennis Hartmann are the owners of True Blue Farms in Grand Junction. Established in 1988, True Blue Farms has grown substantially to 10 subsidiaries, including hundreds of acres of production and the popular Blueberry Store in downtown South Haven. In addition to being the USHBC chair, Hartmann is the past president of the Michigan Frozen Food Packers Association. She penned an inspiring story of her rise to success in the book Chicken Soup for the Entrepreneurial Soul. 

“I think what I'm most proud of in 2023 is I saw a lot of people that you may not see work together roll up their sleeves and start working together for the betterment of the industry, and not for the betterment of them or their organization. They put that stuff aside and they really looked at our blueberry industry and they made the best decisions … for our industry, and that made me feel really proud because it's like one big happy blueberry family. ” - Shelly Hartmann

 Topics covered include: 

• An introduction to Shelly Hartmann, USHBC chair, “Blueberry Chicks” podcaster and co-owner of True Blue Farms. 
• An exploration of 2023 USHBC highlights and a discussion of what’s coming in 2024. 

Visit blueberryevents.org to learn more and register for The Blueberry Convention Feb. 28-March 1 in Tucson, Arizona.

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Rachel Petraglia, culinary specialist for the fifth largest school nutrition program in the nation at the Georgia Department of Education. Petraglia spent almost 14 years working for the Gwinnett School Nutrition Program, developing recipes and menus for the district’s 182,000 students. While working for Gwinnett, she facilitated a blueberry partnership through the Culinary Institute of America’s Healthy Kids Collaborative program, and helped develop several new menu items featuring frozen blueberries. 

“I think that when you use fruit like blueberries and incorporate them into breakfast staples,  you end up with a product that is really delicious. That's where I want to see school nutrition and school breakfast get to. That's the direction I believe it's going to start moving in. ” - Rachel Petraglia

 Topics covered include: 

• An introduction to Petraglia and her work for the Georgia Department of Education. 
• An explanation of the collaboration between local school districts and the blueberry industry, and  how students responded to it.
• What Petraglia sees for the future of school nutrition and how she is getting students excited about this progress.

Visit blueberryevents.org to learn more and register for the Blueberry Convention, Feb. 28-March 1 in Tucson, Arizona. 

Crop Report

The Blueberry Crop Report is an update on crop conditions and markets throughout important blueberry growing areas. You’ll hear from Daniel Bustamante in Peru, Andres Armstrong in Chile and Mario Ramirez in Mexico. This was recorded on January 18, 2024.

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by David Krause, CEO of Frutura. Recently, this California-based fruit sales and marketing company announced it was acquiring two berry businesses: Sun Belle and Giddings Fruits. Before joining Frutura, Krause served as president of Wonderful Citrus, the largest integrated grower, packer and shipper of fresh citrus in the world, with 58,000+ acres of company-owned-and-operated farmland in California, Texas and Mexico. 

“You just have to have a pulse to understand what the potential consumption and how much the growth in this particular area has been. When you're in fresh produce and you think about, you know, the growing categories, you have to be in blueberries, right? It's just so much runway, and at the same time, it's such an interesting space.” – David Krause

 Topics covered include: 

• An exploration of Krause’s journey in agriculture and how it led to his leadership role at Frutura.
• A look at how Frutura’s expansion into berries could contribute to the industry. 
• Krause’s perspective on the power of up-and-coming blueberry genetics, and the trajectory he feels the blueberry industry is on.

Crop Report

The Blueberry Crop Report is an update on crop conditions and markets throughout important blueberry growing areas. You’ll hear from Daniel Bustamante in Peru and Mario Ramirez in Mexico. This was recorded on January 4, 2024.