Frank Donio’s new blueberry juice is naturally sweet, healthy
Frank Donio’s new blueberry juice is naturally sweet, healthy
Frank Donio Inc. has expanded the Top Crop brand with Straight Up Berries, a 100 percent blueberry juice.
The Hammonton, NJ-based Donio’s new juice is a natural extension of its product line, said Annie Pape, who oversees the company’s marketing and private label departments and is the great-granddaughter of founder Frank Donio.
“As a company that has been involved in blueberries for generations it’s a very natural extension of what we already do,” Pape said. “We’ve spent decades growing, packing, shipping and marketing blueberries, so creating a juice that is made entirely from blueberries that feels true to the fruit itself was something we were really passionate about.”
Donio’s goal in developing the juice was to create a balanced flavor profile. To avoid using any added sugar or sweeteners, the blend became incredibly important.
“We tested different ratios until we got to a place where the juice felt flavorful and ‘just sweet enough’ without becoming overly sweet,” Pape said. “We evaluate each lot for Brix, pH and acidity to help create consistency from batch to batch, but there’s definitely an art to it as well. We wanted the juice to feel bright, fresh and naturally balanced while still tasting distinctly like real blueberries.”
Straight Up Berries comes in a sparkling and a regular version. The sparkling blueberry juice has become popular for consumers because it drinks almost like a sophisticated mocktail.
“Through demos and tastings, we’ve learned pretty quickly that carbonation is definitely a dividing line,” Pape said. “Some people absolutely love bubbles and some people don’t, so offering both versions lets us appeal to both preferences.”
Straight Up Berries, which fits naturally in the produce department, is an extension of the blueberry category instead of a separate beverage business for Donio. The company’s tagline for the juice is Blueberry Juice by Blueberry People.
“We’re not beverage people who decided to make a blueberry drink,” Pape said. “We’re a blueberry company that has spent generations growing, packing, shipping and marketing blueberries, and this product came directly out of that experience.”
That connection also creates some interesting opportunities at retail, especially around cross merchandising.
“During the local season, having Straight Up Berries merchandised alongside fresh blueberries helps reinforce the connection between the fruit and the juice,” she said. “Consumers immediately understand the story because it feels authentic and connected to agriculture.”
A proprietary cold processing technique essentially cold pasteurizes the juice without being exposed to higher temperatures traditionally associated with pasteurization.
“That’s important because anthocyanins, which are the signature antioxidants found in blueberries and the compounds that give blueberries their deep blue color, are heat sensitive and can begin breaking down at elevated temperatures,” Pape said.
That gives Straight Up Berries a selling point: anthocyanins have been heavily researched in areas including metabolic health, cardiovascular health, cognitive function and gut health. Preserving the anthocyanins is something Frank Donio Inc. made a priority when developing the juice. Research has also linked anthocyanin-rich blueberries to healthy aging, reduced inflammation and support for vascular health.
“The goal from the beginning was to create a juice that stays as true to the blueberry as possible, both in flavor and in composition,” Pape said.
Another selling point is the Native Origin Sourced message. Blueberries growing wild in New Jersey were the foundation of the cultivated blueberry industry over 100 years ago, she said. Sourcing from the region is meaningful to Frank Donio Inc., because there’s a real sense of history behind it.
“From a branding standpoint, it’s also been exciting because produce companies traditionally haven’t always built strong consumer-facing brands in the same way other food categories have,” Pape said. “We’re seeing more opportunities to connect consumers directly to the farm story, the grower story and the product quality story.
“Straight Up Berries has given us a chance to do that in a different format while still staying deeply tied to agriculture.”
NJ blueberry, peach outlook
Frank Donio Inc. and other New Jersey blueberry growers are assessing the effects of a recent cold snap during the crop’s bloom period. Some blueberry fields have shown slight signs of damage, Pape said, but in mid-May, it was too soon to know the full extent of the effects of the weather.
“Blueberries can sometimes continue progressing normally before the full effects set in,” she said. “It will be more clear later as temperatures warm up and it really just depends on how the plant reacts as the blueberries start to mature.”
The timing of the freeze was especially difficult for New Jersey peach development because they bloom earlier than blueberries.
“The damage there was much more immediate and obvious,” Pape said. “With blueberries, things are a little less clear right now, and we’re continuing to monitor how the crop develops over the coming weeks.”
Retail support
Retailers continue to show strong interest in local produce and programs like Jersey Fresh remain extremely valuable in helping consumers quickly identify local products at retail, she said.
“There’s definitely a strong connection consumers feel to local agriculture, especially in New Jersey where people really recognize the quality and reputation of locally grown produce,” Pape said.
