How difficult do YOU think it is? Well, it’s HARD as a Mike Tyson’s punch in the face…

Guest article by Diego Castagnasso, a fresh produce and blueberry industry expert. Loud, opinionated, INFORMED! Diego writes DC’s B-Side’s newsletter as he speaks and speaks as he writes. You can subscribe, under your own peril, to his newsletter here or visit his less fun (for now) website Drip Consulting.

So… Yes!

Writing a newsletter is HARD!!

Let me explain….

NO, No, no, let me SHOW you first and then I’ll explain…

Or you can just look at the charts and graphs and then close the email forever… as always

… It’s your choice!

This means that on…

2022: Only 10 varieties made up for 88% of all the plants certified in Peru, and only 3 varieties accounted for 65%.

2023: Only 10 varieties made up 85% of all the plants certified in Peru, and only 3 varieties accounted for 59%.

2024: Only 10 varieties made up for 82% of all the plants certified in Peru, and only 3 varieties accounted for 56%.

But what happened to the exported fruit

Well, last week we were able to see the total export kilos per variety, so this week’s plan was to go deeper, I planned to see how the 3 most exported varieties were influencing the total curve to take the analysis forward…

I did…

I even started earlier than usual, looking for the data, creating the charts, checking the info, you know, creating the “ingredients” for analysis.

I wrote note ideas, planned new chats, maybe another graph, and of course, asked questions.

Without realizing it, I had 4 pages of charts, graphs, phrases, ideas, and many questions from different points of view…

…and not enough time to “write” the post for LinkedIn, so I left everything aside and finished that task…

One thing led to another and before I knew it, I had to go to sleep; it was 2 AM.

Woke up, had breakfast with the wife, planned lunch, got coffee, and sat at the computer with all my papers, Excel spreadsheets, PDFs, etc.…

But for the love of me, I couldn’t write the damn newsletter!

By this time, it looked more like a book than a newsletter.

WHY?

And it was just then that it STRUCK me like a kick in the gut…

…. you know… that sudden, overwhelming realization that leaves you speechless.

WHO WAS I WRITING THIS FOR??

From whose perspective?

And that is the problem when you go DEEP; the paths start dividing…

Let’s take the perspective of, for example, a grower and exporter from…

Peru: When he sees that info, he will automatically think about what varieties he has and what varieties his neighbors have. If the variety is Biloxi, it will probably mean that this 2025 it won’t peak as much, but he would require pickers earlier and for a longer period.

Argentina: He can see that Biloxi production has been working as a base for the other varieties, and that Ventura is what really pushes the kilos up, followed by POP, so he hopes that his fruit is earlier than Ventura so he can have less Peruvian fruit in his target markets.

South Africa: Depending on where in South Africa and which varieties he is growing, he would be more worried about the POP competing with his MBOs, OZBLUs, PLANASAs, etc., than maybe the BILOXIs or ROCIOs, but probably he would prefer an earlier peak than a later one.

And I can go on like this for hours; in fact, I DID, imagining who my client is and what to get from the information and the different scenarios.

That is what you get when you schedule The CALL in any of the three services:

The Strategic Insight Call: If you’re facing an urgent fire, need a quick read on the market, or want to validate your gut feeling before you make an expensive mistake.

The Friends & Family Call: You’ve got the basics down, but things are getting tricky. You need ongoing market intelligence, or a reliable partner to help you navigate the long haul, not just one quick fix.

The VIP Executive Access Call: You’re a high-stakes player. You need immediate answers, real-time validation, and a no-nonsense partner to make critical calls on the fly.

Because each one of you has different needs…

Schedule NOW “THE CALL” that best suits you.

Enjoy your WEEK!!!

And remember, if you liked what you read, send it to a friend; if not, unsubscribe…

PS1: When I said “write” the LinkedIn post, it’s not as easy as it looks, because it’s not just writing. It’s creating the prompt for the image, making the forms, the automation, so when you click, you go where I want you to go and not any other place, obviously writing the post, etc, etc, etc.
PS2: I know, but isn’t the Argentinean grower worried about Sekoya POP? Not necessarily because most of the POP fruit goes to Premium markets, and most of his fruit does not.

Writting by Diego Castagnasso