Berries: an emerging category growing exponentially at The Oppenheimer Group
Berries: an emerging category growing exponentially at The Oppenheimer Group
“We anticipate increased berry volumes in all of our import programs,” said Nolan Quinn, berry category director for The Oppenheimer Group headquartered in Vancouver, B.C. “We are also excited about the growth that we are seeing in organics. We’re anticipating more organic blueberries from Chile this season, and we will be marketing organic blackberries from Mexico for the first time starting in October.”
During the import berry season, The Oppenheimer Group markets fruit grown in Chile, Argentina and Mexico. The company grows in all of the regions and its growing partners are increasing their berry acreage, mostly on the varieties that are performing well, such as early and late season blueberry varieties from Chile.
The Oppenheimer Group markets berries virtually year-round. Mr. Quinn said the company is also the exclusive marketer of Ocean Spray fresh cranberries.
“Our domestic berry program includes conventional blueberries from North Carolina, New Jersey and British Columbia, while our imports include conventional strawberries and both organic and conventional blackberries from Mexico,” he said. “We also handle organic and conventional blueberries from Chile, and conventional blueberries from Argentina.”
He added that the run times on imported berries are expected to be similar to previous year programs.
Blueberries from Chile will start in early December and run through March. From Argentina, the program runs from October through mid-December. British Columbia blueberries run July through September.
The Oppenheimer Group handles blackberries from Mexico from November through March, and strawberries, also from Mexico, start in October and run through March.
While the company distributes nationwide, Mr. Quinn said it finds that the Northeastern United States is a consistently strong berry market, especially with blueberries, followed closely by the Great Lakes states.
“Berries are an emerging category with Oppenheimer, one that has grown exponentially over the last half decade,” he said. “Our grower-partners, including Mainland Farms from Michoacan, Mexico, do an excellent job at producing some of the best tasting berries available. This season we will market their organic blackberries for the first time ever, starting October and wrapping up in May.”
