NuBerry Farms offers new branding on blueberries

Fru-Veg Marketing is a top importer of fine produce from the best growers in Europe and Latin America. The company also co-owns NuBerry Farms along with Berry Bros., providing blueberries from 2,600 acres in Florida, Georgia, New Jersey, North Carolina and Michigan, along with packing facilities in Georgia, New Jersey and Michigan, so it’s truly vertically integrated and a year-round blueberry company.

“With NuBerry, we have our domestic program going; right now, we are in Georgia, and starting in North Carolina, and we’ll be in New Jersey soon,” said Ali Dandrea, part of the Fru-Veg Marketing and NuBerry teams. “Everything is going really well. It’s been very exciting to see the labels in the store.”

This season, NuBerry has all new branding for its blueberry products, including a bright yellow label that pops in the stores, and a light green label for its organic products.

“Everything we’re doing with NuBerry is very thought-out and we’re taking our time to create a real brand here for consumers and stores,” Dandrea said.

Recently, NuBerry hired Jason Rudd as its new vice president of sales and marketing and is growing its sales staff further.

The company has a lot of business in the Northeast but also does a great deal down south, thanks to its Florida operations, with Fru-Veg based in Miami.

“Working with like-minded people has been a key to success,” Dandrea said. “You just want to have that relationship with someone who understands what you’re doing and the process and respect that. With controlling everything, there is a cost of materials, but by getting a consistent supply of high-quality product, which we do, then the relationship is good. Our job is to make our customers’ jobs easy.”

In New Jersey, the company has almost 570 acres of blueberries and also has a domestic blackberry program in Georgia with 90 acres.

“The blueberries in New Jersey are blooming nicely,” Dandrea said. “We were a little short on labor in Georgia, so we had to go in with machines to get harvest, and that ended a little earlier. Now we’re in North Carolina and New Jersey is going to come in strong. There’s something about Jersey blueberries that people get excited about.”

The company participates in the Jersey Fresh program and has Vineland, NJ on its label, as it embraces each region that it is in.

NuBerry was established in 2020 and now with the branding set and everything being fully equipped, this is the first year that everyone feels they are truly “in it.”

“The sky is the limit here and it’s very exciting,” Dandrea said. “It all takes time, but over time, you gain the confidence and trust, and then it’s all plug-and-play.”

Fru-Veg’s year-round asparagus program is doing well, and the Petit Gourmet label is gaining traction in stores. It’s also doing well with its apple import program and expects good things from the upcoming summer citrus import as well, with lemons, navels and clementines.