“Sunny Valley International has marketed imported and domestic blueberries for the better part of three decades,” said Tom Beaver, director of sales and marketing for the Glassboro, NJ-based company. “The blueberry deal has evolved significantly over the years. Consumers now have access to blueberries 12 months out of the year, which has cemented blueberries as a fixture in berry displays.”
It’s the New Jersey blueberry season where the company really thrives and is most excited about right now.
“We are one of the largest suppliers by volume of New Jersey blueberries,” said Beaver, noting that volumes will start shipping around June 12. “New Jersey is in a great position this year. Volume should be very strong, and we think it’s going to be about 30-40 percent higher than what we shipped last year. That seems to be the consensus across the board for all the growers we work with in the state.”
The company is expecting a great supply between the second week of June through late July to keep retailers on the East Coast happy.
Beaver noted that the long history of blueberries in the state is one of the reasons that the fruit is so popular there.
“New Jersey was the first state to get into the cultivated blueberry business, so you have decades and decades of history and because of that, there’s a great affinity for them, particularly with customers in the Mid-Atlantic and up into New England,” he said. “Another thing that’s relevant is the quality they are getting. In most cases, that product is being picked, packed and shipped the same day and landing at the retailer between 2-3 days of coming off the bushes. You’re not going to get a fresher, higher quality blueberry this time of year.”
Sunny Valley is also the exclusive marketer for the Jersey Fruit Cooperative, marketing blueberries for nine family-owned blueberry growers in New Jersey.
Recently, the company has placed a large emphasis on varietal development, hoping that new products will help continue the big growth of blueberry sales domestically and around the world.
The primary two varieties in New Jersey are Duke, which carries the company through the first 2-3 weeks, followed by Bluecrop.
“Both are excellent eating blueberries and give you consistent size, with a good bloom on them,” Beaver said. “We have seen some transition within our grower base to some new varieties in small acreage. We are testing some new varieties to see what will perform well in New Jersey.” Sunny Valley is dealing with a lot of the same issues it has dealt with the last handful of years, with cost of production being one of the main challenges. That is seen in the cost of materials, clamshells, boxes and other items necessary.
“We always try to thread the needle to where our retail partners are getting good promotable volume but at a price that’s fair for the growers, so everyone wins,” Beaver said.
In a typical season, the company is concerned with weather and pollination, but in 2025, things have been looking great so neither should have any impact on the upcoming blueberry season.
“We had perfect weather during pollination this year, which helped set the crop and make sure the volume and quality will be there,” Beaver said. “We have fantastic growers who range in size and scale. They are all packing under the same label and they made a general commitment to packing to the best quality that they can.”
