ORLANDO, Fla. — Berry suppliers at the International Fresh Produce Association’s Global Produce and Floral Show are shifting focus to high-flavor genetics, quality tech and direct supply control to fight rising costs and unpredictable weather.
Consalo Family Farms: Locking in Direct Offshore Supply
For Consalo Family Farms, insulating retail partners against unpredictable East Coast weather and global supply friction requires direct ownership of production. To protect programs from freeze losses like those recently seen in New Jersey, Consalo is pursuing a major international joint venture in Peru.
“We just announced that we invested in a new farm in Peru: ... a 50-50 venture [with Frutanza],” says Morgan DiMartino, vice president of marketing for Consalo Family Farms. “We invested in about 250 hectares, which is about 500 acres of farmland being planted now in Peru. Production of that is going to start sometime in July ... blueberries that grow in Peru don’t take as long for commercial harvest as they do in the U.S.”
By securing owned acreage overseas, Consalo gains a reliable, rapid-maturing supply buffer that avoids global spot-market bidding.
“Having the locked-in supply, we’re going to control the supply chain of that,” DiMartino says. “We’ll always have the availability. We won’t have to compete with the China market and all of that seasonally, and [it gives us] that extra insurance when Georgia, North Carolina or New Jersey have seasonal disruptions.”
Naturipe Farms: Capturing Margins with Premium Varieties, On-the-Go Snacks and Festive Packaging
Naturipe Farms is pursuing growth through premiumization, convenience and seasonal merchandising. The company is seeing high-margin, superior-flavor fruit outpace standard grocery offerings.
“Our sweet premium [and specialty] segments are actually growing faster than conventional and even organic berries,” says John Johnston, director of premium products and innovation for Naturipe Farms. “Even though they’re priced a little bit higher at retail, they are sweeter and tastier, and consumers are willing to pay a little bit more and keep coming back. ... Products like Sweet Selections have to hit certain Brix and acid ratios to qualify, as well as firmness and crunch.”
Beyond fresh fruit, Naturipe is tackling new dayparts with functional grab-and-go options like its protein-rich SnackBites and pancake kits.
“We launched pancake kits with blueberries and real maple syrup, ... and it’s become one of the fastest-selling items in the produce set because it is breakfast and produce,” says Matthew Lyons, Naturipe’s director of business development, value-added fresh.
To drive impulse purchases during key promotional periods, Naturipe highlights its “Berry and Bright” holiday campaign at the IFPA show, featuring berries in festive holiday sweaters.
“‘Berry and Bright’ is playful, colorful and seasonal, but it also gives our retail partners something important: a reliable berry program they can count on during a busy time of year,” says Jim Roberts, president of Naturipe Farms.
Ashley Finster, vice president of marketing, adds: “The sweaters, bright colors and playful design do the work of getting shoppers to pause, while the bilingual labels help the packaging connect with even more customers across the U.S. and Canada.”
Wish Farms: Balancing Soaring Farm Costs with Flavor Genetics and Real-Time Quality Tech
Under newly appointed CEO James Peterson, Wish Farms is navigating the severe cost pressures facing growers by shifting away from commodity volume toward proprietary, high-flavor varieties and artificial intelligence-driven quality assurance.
“Costs across all berries being grown right now have just gone up significantly from where they were five years ago,” Peterson says, citing increases in diesel, plastic clamshells and H-2A guest-worker labor costs. “For a long time, a lot of retailers talked to us about sheer supply — ‘I just want 52 weeks a year.’ Now, I don’t think that’s good enough anymore. Now it’s, ‘I need the right berries on the shelf.’”
To meet that demand, Wish Farms brought in elite breeding leadership to develop proprietary raspberries and blackberries. The company is also pairing genetics with real-time quality testing through its partner, Clarifresh.
“Clarifresh has really helped bring an increased technology presence toward understanding our quality in a better way,” Peterson says. “That’s not only the condition of the fruit, but it’s the flavor of the fruit, it’s disease resistance. ... As technology’s improved, it’s allowed us to look at quality in a much more real-time perspective than we used to, putting better quality products on the shelf.”
