Jun 27, 2023

Naturipe blueberry production hits summer supplies

Ahead of National Blueberry Month — July — Naturipe Farms is kicking off the summer season with promotable volumes of its flavorful blueberries from New Jersey, Michigan and the Pacific Northwest.

Following a strong start to the domestic blueberry season in the Southeast, Naturipe will transition to crops in New Jersey, Michigan, and the Pacific Northwest to provide a bounty of blueberries for the entire summer. Naturipe is the country’s largest blueberry supplier and No. 1 brand of fresh blueberries, according to a news release, growing dollar sales at 2.5 times the prior 52-week growth of the category.

“Demand for blueberries has been fantastic so far this year, which leads into a perfect scenario for a large crop coming on from New Jersey then transitioning into Michigan and the Pacific Northwest,” Jim Roberts, president of sales, said in the release. “Mother Nature has been kind to us this year unlike the last three years.

“We are pleased to have strong crops with promotable volumes and better quality,” he said in the release. “This will provide retailers with the opportunity to increase promotional frequency, open up displays with multiple pack sizes and achieve record sales in the category.”

The summer kicked off with promotable volumes from New Jersey the second week of June, with the Duke and Draper varieties, as well as Naturipe’s proprietary Envoy variety. New Jersey’s peak volume in hit in mid-June and the crop will transition to Michigan and the Pacific Northwest at the beginning of July. Peak volumes in the Pacific Northwest will continue from mid-July to early August, while Michigan will see peak volumes in late July through mid-August.

“We’re really excited about our new varieties, in all of these growing regions at Naturipe Farms,” Brian Bocock, vice president of product management, said in the release. “Our growers are going through an evolution in varieties that takes the top characteristics of existing varieties and delivers even better taste, flavor, size, texture, shelf life and more. Growers, retailers, and consumers, regardless of variety, are going to get an improvement over what we’ve seen in the past.”

Throughout the summer, Naturipe’s Mighty Blues Blueberries line will also be available and will bring a larger-than-life aspect to retailers’ berry lineups. Nearly the size of a quarter, Mighty Blues are a super-sized way to enjoy

Naturipe’s fresh offerings.Naturipe’s blueberries will be offered in a range of package sizes, including 6 ounces, pints, 18 ounces, 2 pounds, and the stackable, easily-merchandisable low-profile pint package.