Mar 4, 2021

Bryan Sakuma gets blueberry honor for Export and Global Community Relations

During the 2020 North American Blueberry Council/U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council Virtual Conference & Expo, USHBC honored 11 pioneers whose work has helped the blueberry industry grow and flourish over the last two decades.

One of those winners was Bryan Sakuma of Sakuma Bros. Holding Co. who won in the Export and Global Community Relations category.

Sakuma is a third-generation berry grower in Washington state. He started working at Sakuma Brother Farms in 1989 and was the lead nursery salesperson for the Pacific Northwest for Norcal Nursery Inc. During the summer months, he was involved with his family harvest and nursery growing operations.

Eventually, Sakuma became president of Sakuma Bros. Processing where he managed both the fresh market and processing facilities. During this time, Bryan was involved in developing the frozen sales business in Japan. Since 2016, Bryan has been the vice president of sales and marketing for Sakuma Brothers Holding Company.

His primary focus is frozen and fresh markets sales. Sakuma is widely recognized as one of the most respected blueberry growers in the state of Washington and is always thinking about the best interests of Washington state and the U.S. blueberry industry as a whole. Bryan is a long-standing member of USHBC and its board, and his leadership contributions to the industry are immense.

“This is a great honor and privilege,” Sakuma said during his acceptance speech. “USHBC is an extraordinary organization. We at Sakuma Brothers Farms appreciate all the work that has been done by Kasey Conquist and his staff at the USHBC and helping growers’ export efforts in both the far east and other locations throughout the world.”

See the full list of award winners here.

– Sakuma Bros. Processing