SALINAS, CA - As an antioxidant powerhouse, blueberries will never go out of style. With California’s domestic blueberry crop hitting store shelves, I turned to Naturipe Farms to learn more about the company’s current blueberry program.

“We are excited to see another strong season of Naturipe blueberries out of California, particularly in our premium Mighty Blues jumbo blueberries. Our proprietary blueberry varieties deliver an exceptional eating experience, and we can’t wait for our customers and their shoppers to try these and all of our delicious blueberries,” began Brian Bocock, Vice President of Product Management. “We are just starting off our California blueberry season, with stronger availability beginning in May and peak volumes continuing through the beginning of June.”

Naturipe Farms offers organic and conventional varieties from California in both public and proprietary varieties developed through its breeding program.

“Recently, we’ve developed a few exciting proprietary varieties that optimize the berries’ characteristics and make them even better. They are firmer and more flavorful at each bite. As a bonus for retailers, they also have an improved shelf-life,” Brian added.

In general, the blueberry season for Naturipe Farms is shaping up great, with the market coming into stronger promotional volumes as domestic growing regions like California, Florida, and Georgia are becoming available to supplement the volumes from Mexico.

“In California specifically, the market is steady as we are still in the early weeks of the season. Once we get into May, we will see multiple opportunities with promotional volumes. Initial promotional volumes will kick off with the peak of our Rocio Variety organic blueberries from the Southern San Joaquin Valley in early May. Late May and early June represent the overall peak of California blueberry production with promotional opportunities for both conventional and organic blueberries,” Brian noted.

He added that blueberry pricing has been stronger and needs to remain that way to offset additional costs needed to grow and harvest the crop.

“These cost increases have been felt across the entire food chain as input cost, packaging, and labor cost have all substantially increased in the last two years and the cost of goods needs to reflect this in order for farmers’ operations to remain sustainable. As volumes increase in May when we reach peak volumes, we expect prices to adjust to promotional levels and spike demand through that period,” Brian concluded.

With those words in mind, retailers should start planning ASAP!