Jersey Fresh blues: Grown right in the Garden State
By
Joe Atchison III
Jersey Fresh blues: Grown right in the Garden State
New Jersey blueberry growers benefited from the perfect conditions needed during the winter and spring to harvest a full crop of the bigger, better, more flavorful berries your customers crave all year long. Your customers know Jersey Fresh blueberries will provide the flavor and size they desire, and we are happy to report that Jersey Fresh blueberries will be ready for your shelves starting early June into August. Jersey Fresh blueberries provide excellent marketing opportunities for retailers each summer. This is especially true in the New Jersey, Philadelphia, New York and Greater New England metropolitan areas, where Jersey Fresh blueberries are recognized as the best local option. Our annual market research in these regions confirms each season that nearly three-quarters of consumers surveyed believe Jersey Fresh blueberries are superior to berries from elsewhere.
The New Jersey Department of Agriculture recommends retailers that source Jersey Fresh blueberries to shoppers, and these efforts will continue to be enhanced by our partnerships with the New Jersey Blueberry Growers Association.
The NJDA has created a comprehensive marketing campaign that includes digital billboards with rotating messages throughout the blueberry harvest, social media ads on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest as well as print advertising in industry publications and Edible Jersey. Additionally, the NJDA’s Jersey Fresh team will have radio spots featuring Jersey Fresh blueberries during the height of the 2025 season.
People from all over the East Coast (and beyond) love to visit the world-famous Jersey Shore. Those crowds will be returning and as your customers lounge on our beaches, they will see Jersey Blues and Jersey Fresh airplane banners flying the shoreline from Sandy Hook in the north to the southern tip in Cape May. They may also spot digital boat boards highlighting Jersey Blues, digital screens on the Atlantic City boardwalk as well as digital ad panels at the Jersey Shore Premium Outlets. Plus, for the fifth consecutive year, we are hosting a sampling campaign of blueberries on three Jersey Shore boardwalks in Atlantic City, Seaside Heights and Wildwood. These events have been highly successful — who doesn’t want free pints of Jersey Fresh blueberries? Celebrate with us on National Blueberry Day, July 8 and follow us on social media for more details.
NJDA also has plenty of Jersey Fresh point-of-purchase materials available to help markets promote that Jersey Fresh is available in your stores. If you have a Jersey Fresh blueberry display in your store, be sure to tag us with #JerseyFresh on Facebook and Instagram so we can share your post to our over 52,000 followers.
None of this would be possible without you, our retail partners, so we thank you for your continued support of Jersey Fresh produce, especially New Jersey blueberries. Make sure to source these customer favorites from Jersey Fresh growers. Looking for help finding a farmer or need some POP materials, please contact the Jersey Fresh team at [email protected].
Joe Atchison III is the assistant secretary and director of marketing and development for the New Jersey Department of Agriculture.