“We find that successful 52-week per year supply requires a combination of at least four growing regions,” Liekens said. “The more growing areas we have, the more overlap and options are available for better quality. This means that in the future, earliness becomes less important. The key to success will be qualitative products in the peak of the seasons in each location.”
Therefore, the company has two varieties for warm climates (low-zero chill) grown in areas like the southern part of the U.S., Mexico, Peru or at low-elevation in Chile; and three varieties for cold climates produced in areas like the northern part of the U.S., Canada or at high-elevation in Chile.
In the U.S., SEKOYA has three mid-high chill varieties — Sekoya Crunch FC13-083 is the earliest one; Sekoya Grande FC13-122 is the mid-season variety and Sekoya Fiesta FC13-113 covers the late season.
“These varieties grow in thenorth of the U.S. and in Canada and bridge the gap between the zero-chill blueberries from Mexico or the low-chill blueberries from Florida until May/June, and the Peruvian season as from September,” Liekens said. “It’s nice to know that these varieties are the next generation. These are big blueberries with the size on average being of the older varieties, with high yield and fruit concentration, which are nice parameters for growers
With this unique combination, SEKOYA can supply its consumers with consistent quality year-round because its premium mid-high chill varieties allow the company to bridge the quality gaps when zero-low chill production is at the end of its season or just starting a new one.
“The SEKOYA blueberry varieties are sold by our 15 members, so SEKOYA itself does not grow or sell any fruit,” Liekens said. “Growers understand that somebody has to eat the blueberries they grow, and consumption can happen weeks after harvest. We see a shift toward blueberry varieties that are crunchy and tasteful with a long shelf life as these varieties generate frequent repurchases in supermarkets as well as limited food waste at store level.”
So, while the 15 SEKOYA members are the primary customers, the company also considers their customers, the supermarkets, as customers.
“What we try to build is an open network of our SEKOYA members and supermarkets by bringing them together to our demo fields and show around 50 blueberry varieties side by side, followed by a blind tasting and some inspiring presentations and guest speakers,” Liekens said. “Information sharing is key in a young industry to better understand each other’s needs. We see that the industry is becoming more and more a blueberry community.”
In fact, the blueberry category continues to grow globally, more than doubling in the last five years, and Rabobank projects the consumption will double again in the next five.
“It’s interesting to see that the growth in the U.S., which is one of the more mature markets, is happening in the same growth pace as global consumption,” Liekens said.
As the company looks to expand, Liekens believes segmentation of the category is key.
“Today, the blueberry shelf is confusing for a consumer and a missed opportunity for a supermarket,” he said. “We have to look to other successful segmented categories, such as tomatoes — breakfast tomatoes, snacking tomatoes, local tomato, flavor tomatoes, etc. Why not do this with blueberries? It is the same consumer, and in general, the value of the blueberry category is higher than that of tomatoes.”
