Naturipe Farms celebrates New Jersey growers for success in blueberries
From
| 13 June 2023
Overview of blueberries from New Jersey in the U.S. market, complemented by charts from Agronometrics. Original published on June 9, 2023.
As the top producer of blueberries in the world, Naturipe Farms grows, packs and sells blueberries 52 weeks a year, so the category is a key component to its full berry portfolio.
“The blueberries coming from New Jersey are a big part of our year-round availability,” said Brian Bocock, vice president of product management for Naturipe Farms. Bocock has been involved in the production and management of blueberries for more than 45 years.
Over that time, Bocock has seen dramatic changes across the blueberry industry. “When I first got involved, the only commercially significant growing regions were North Carolina, New Jersey, Michigan, Oregon and British Columbia, which were supplying blueberries to the consumer from late May until mid-September,” he said. “Now, we have blueberries year-round from numerous states and international regions, including Peru, Chile and Mexico.”
Additionally, there was a time when companies would only pack in pulp cups and cellophane. Now blueberries are packed almost exclusively in clamshells.
“The health benefits of blueberries were also less of a focus when I began in the industry whereas now, their high levels of antioxidants, vitamin C and fiber are all anyone can talk about,” Bocock said. “Finally, when I first started there were only four or five primary blueberry varieties that went into the fresh market. Today, there are many more varieties and a huge emphasis on developing proprietary varieties.”
Naturipe itself has been in the blueberry market for more than 100 years. In the past few years, the company has ramped up production on its own proprietary blueberries.
“Quality, innovation, and constant pursuit to embrace change are the secrets to success,” Bocock said. “At Naturipe, we grow the best and biggest blueberries, which we’ve cultivated through careful genetic breeding. We’re always looking forward to the next idea and planning for how we can keep customers happy with our products.”
In New Jersey, blueberry volumes were off a little bit in 2022, but there was strong pricing. That has also been the trend for the last three years.
Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics.
(Agronometrics users can view this chart with live updates here)
“The upcoming crop looks fairly good so far,” Bocock said. “Volumes should be a little better this year. Demand and pricing are very strong for New Jersey blueberries. The season will start around mid-June and finish in early August.”
What makes Naturipe’s New Jersey blueberries special are the growers it works with.
“Our grower-owners in New Jersey are all multi-generational, New Jersey-based growers that take a tremendous amount of pride in every pound they produce and put into the fresh market,” Bocock said. “Additionally, some of our proprietary varieties are starting to come into decent volumes and we have transitioned a tremendous number of acres from older varieties to new genetics, even outside of our proprietary varieties. This will continue to improve and expand our offerings.”
The economy and overall increases in costs have had a tremendous impact on grower revenue, which is one of the reasons Naturipe are supporters of the Jersey Fresh program, the state-wide initiative to help farmers and growers inform consumers about the availability and variety of fruits and vegetables grown in New Jersey.
To improve sales at retail, Bocock recommends carrying more than one size of clamshell.
“If you are not carrying pints and 18-ounce packs at the same time in your store, you are missing a lot of incremental sales opportunities,” he said. “Stores can also upsize even more into a 2-pound pack.”
The News in Charts is a collection of stories from the industry complemented by charts from Agronometrics to help better tell their story.
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