When Traverse City, Mich.-based North Bay Produce Inc. was established as Wilderness Fresh Produce in 1984, its primary focus was Michigan apples, said Brian Klumpp, director of marketing and strategic development.
Today, apples continue to be a strong part of the cooperative’s business, but berries — blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and strawberries — have become key items.
“Berries have been a great part of our business, and it’s been growing very nicely for us,” Klumpp said.
The co-op, which now has more than 30 members, partnered with some Latin American growers in the mid-1980s as its product line expanded and changed its name in 1991.
North Bay has farms “all across the Americas” and can offer berries year-round, he said.
The co-op has 17 packing operations in the U.S. and two major warehouses — one in Miami and a facility that opened in 2012 in Mascoutah, Ill. — on an airport runway.
“From that location, we can transport to 90% of North America within 19 hours or less by truck,” he said.
That facility is one of 12 U.S. Department of Agriculture certified cold treatment facilities in the U.S., he said.
“Cold treatment is a way of treating fruits and vegetables for the Mediterranean fruit fly and other pests and is a better alternative than fumigating,” Klumpp said.
As have other businesses, North Bay has implemented protocols to deal with COVID-19 in its offices, warehouses and packing facilities.
The business continues to do well, Klumpp said, “but it’s definitely different.”
“Every day and every week, it’s a little bit different from the previous one,” he said.
Looking to the coming season, Klumpp said North Bay transitioned blueberries from South America to Central and North America in March. In late April, the co-op was transitioning from Florida to Georgia.
North Bay also sources blackberries from the Carolinas.
North Carolina will have reduced blueberry volume during May because of earlier freezes, and that will cause Memorial Day promotions to be limited, he said.
However, organic blueberries from California will be plentiful from mid-May to mid-June with large-pack promotions available.
“As of right now, the northern regions of New Jersey, Michigan, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia look to have very good bud sets,” he said.
“As long as we get through the spring with no frost issues, volume will be plentiful.”
The same was true for conventional and organic production.
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Berries Marketing
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