Homegrown Organic Farms merger expands berry category

Over the last few months, Homegrown Organic Farms has been busy outlining the details to bring HBF International into its growing berry category. Combining decades of berry sales and marketing expertise, Homegrown is building a complete berry program by expanding into conventional blueberries and adding blackberries, currants, cranberries and the kiwi berry.

Homegrown Organic Farms was founded with a purpose of stewardship to land and people. Its founding families were among the first citrus growers in California to go organic when they transitioned their family farm in 1989. Now the company announced an expansion that will bring a path for transitional organic fruit in the future, better logistic solutions and berry category innovations for Homegrown’s growers and customers.

“By moving into the conventional space, Homegrown will have a solution for transitional organic fruit and provide customers with more complete logistic solutions and expanded product offerings HBF International’s quality growers and customer base will be a wonderful addition to the Homegrown family,” said Scott Mabs, CEO of Homegrown Organic Farms.

With the addition of HBFI, Homegrown is creating a comprehensive berry category that will have a full line of product offerings and bring innovation through the introduction and growth of the kiwi berry and the licensing that HBFI holds. The kiwi berry is a miniature variety of kiwifruit that is about the size of a grape. They are fuzz-free and are rich in vital nutrients like vitamin C, fiber and potassium.

“With this change, we will create an all-inclusive berry program that is prepared to bring innovation and quality to our customers,” said Doug Perkins, the owner of HBFI. HBFI has grown, packed, and shipped conventional berries to the market for more than 40 years. Perkins and members of the HBFI team will bring their many years of experience to the Homegrown Organic Farms team.

“We are excited to expand our berry category and provide unique options for our growers, customers and consumers," said Tree Fruit and Blueberry Category Director Stephen Paul. "We are looking forward to growing the Homegrown family.”

Homegrown will launch its expanded program with California blueberries starting in April. Both companies said they look forward to combining their years of experience to bring a berry program full of exciting offerings to the market.