“This domestic season has had good growing conditions and we expect ample opportunities to promote domestic blueberries from Jersey, Michigan and Washington,” Conner said. “We have a great mix of retail, foodservice and wholesale customers. The success to having strong client partnerships is to have consistent high-quality blueberries while having great customer service and having timely communication during times when there are supply gaps.”
NuBerry Farms has seen great success by creating a partnership with its growers and is servicing national retailers as it looks to grow further.
“Through these partnerships, we are vertically integrated to have year-round supplies of fresh blueberries,” Grimaldi said. “Our customer base has more than doubled over the past year.
As advice to retailers, Grimaldi believes stores should be selling in multiples such as three for $5 during peak supply periods, and that will help move volume.
“Also, promoting regional states for ‘home grown’ is still very important to consumers,” he said.
To showcase its blueberries in-store, the company utilizes bright yellow and light green labels to help NuBerry Farms’ market presence and add to consumer recognition.
“NuBerry Farms puts a lot of time and effort into our marketing so to help it stand out by a color on the shelf is great,” said Ali Dandrea, who works in sales for NuBerry’s Northeast office. “For a consumer to buy our blueberries because they see that bright color is what we want, but to have a customer love the quality and taste and come back looking for our label is how we create brand loyalty.”