Industry intelligence is making it clear that the blueberry category continues to enjoy good retail growth and consumer popularity.

“Data shows that blueberry consumption continues to be on the rise across the U.S. and is gaining popularity every year with increases in consumption, retail advertising and total sales,” said Cindy Jewell, director of marketing for California Giant Berry Farms. 

“While strawberries still lead the berry category, blueberries are a very strong second year-in and year-out,” she continued. “Even though blueberries are available year-round, summer time is considered fresh blueberry season with consumers, and the retail attention shows it with more feature ads and promotional pricing.”

Last year, California Giant Berry Farms promoted Evan Pence to the position of blueberry operations manager for the western region. (Photo courtesy of California Giant Berry Farms)California Giant Berry Farms is headquartered in Watsonville, CA, and sources blues from Oregon and British Columbia during the key summer months. Berries are packed under the company’s signature “California Giant” label, with the largest percentage of volume sold to the domestic marketplace. Jewell said 10-15 percent of supplies are exported to customers in the Pacific Rim each year.

“Our acreage is somewhat comparable to last year,” Jewell told The Produce News. “However, since the plants are more mature this year, we are expecting an increase in volume over 2012. Weather has been favorable in the Northwest. Currently, we are anticipating a start in about seven to 10 days with some of the varieties in that region.”

The season will continue to ramp up in July, and blueberries will be harvested into September.

“Sizing and quality are excellent due to favorable weather we have seen to date,” Jewell added.

With so much consumer interest being expressed in blues, Jewell said California Giant is taking full advantage of social networking activities to make the consumer connection.

“We really are relying on our social media programs to take the lead on summer marketing campaigns,” she stated. “We are utilizing new tools linked to our social media outlets that let us increase our intelligence on what consumers are looking for when visiting us.” 

“Strawberries and blueberries are the two most popular berries with our followers, and they are really focused on getting recipes and sharing recipes,” Jewell continued. “So we are creating several offers this summer that will address those interests. Targeting specific interest and requests keep our consumers coming back and sharing their stories with us so we can continue to build our database of brand ambassadors and recipe solutions.”

Last year, California Giant promoted Evan Pence to the position of blueberry operations manager for the western region. “[He] covers all of our production in the Northwest and in California,” Jewell said. “He lives up in Oregon and really is the guy that keeps me informed on forecasting, volume and quality.”