Sun Belle, a year-round marketer and shipper of fresh berries, has launched Craveabelles, a new premium blackberry label designed to elevate the category through exceptional flavor, appearance and shelf presence. According to Sun Belle, the Craveabelles line was created to highlight berries that not only meet consumer desires but also exceed the company’s own rigorous internal standards.
“We see a lot of consumer demand now for great flavor, variety specific, looking for that new item that hits all the marks every single time,” says Hailey Clark, marketing director of Sun Belle. “Craveabelles is a way for us to take our absolutely best-tasting berries and pack them for consumers to rely on to experience something different, but something they already know and love with the very best of it all.”
Craveabelles is available in 6- and 10-ounce clamshells, with peak availability running now through May.
“We’re seeing double-digit growth in the premium category in retail, so I think if we continue to meet that demand, it’ll supply what the consumers are looking for,” says Taylor Hazelwood, vice president of sales for Sun Belle. “It’s no doubt that they’re looking for the best quality, best eating experience, so it is challenging us as an industry and a supplier to rise to those expectations.”
Sun Belle defines these premium characteristics as higher-than-usual Brix levels, a glossy appearance and full 360-degree color. These traits reflect the company’s continued investment in varietal innovation alongside Black Venture Farms, a fellow member of the Frutura family. Black Venture Farms leads all varietal development, breeding, propagation and trialing.
“When you combine a really good, flavored berry with some branding that speaks elevated — something unique, something unforgettable, that experience that’s premium — you end up with a product that performs really well,” Clark says. “We made a combination of getting our best fruit — that we know every berry in the container is going to be delicious — and pairing it with very thoughtful branding to kind of just give an elevated premium berry experience.”
Currently sourced through Sun Belle’s Mexico breeding program, the company’s vertical integration under Frutura ensures consistent supply, quality control and the dependable delivery retail customers expect.
“As long as they’re hitting the peak flavor profile and specifications that we’ve given them, we will have a selection of varieties that can go into this path,” Hazelwood says. “We took our time to make sure that we were delivering a product that we were confident in and we knew would please the consumers. We want to make sure we did it right.”
The Craveabelles branding features a modern aesthetic designed to stand out on retail shelves and signal a premium experience to shoppers at first glance.
“The timing of this is really fun because we’re working on a lot of marketing strategies and concepts that we’re going to roll out this year,” Clark says. “Launching Craveabelles right now, which is a play off the word ‘craveable,’ but throwing in a little Sun Belle love in there, it’s really teasing what we are going to be planning for the rest of the year.”
Sun Belle plans to continue expanding its premium offerings while strengthening partnerships with retailers seeking standout flavor, dependable supply and compelling branding.
“From a marketing perspective, it’s a really fun way to get the buzz going about what’s happening at Sun Belle, because we do have a lot in the works,” Clark says.
