Blueberries

Blueberries

Blueberries

Commodity Overview

Blueberries’ reputation as a superfood, along with their sweet flavor, have contributed to their rise in popularity. Offer blueberries year-round, but beef up your promotions during spring and summer when prices fall. Tap into their continued popularity to boost your bottom line.

PLUs

4240 regular
Retail Price Data is based on USDA Specialty Crops Market News surveys. Data collection ends on the report date and encompasses ad pricing good from the Saturday before the report release date through the following Friday. Weekly data - from over 400 retailers, comprising more than 30,000 individual stores with online weekly advertised features - covers over 250 produce items. Registered (logged-in) users, can access weekly reports and additional market information.
USDA Specialty Crops Market News publishes FOB and Movement data on a daily and weekly basis. Pricing and volume information is aggregated by commodity and published weekly, subject to any source-data adjustments. Commodity data is further processed based on origin (domestic vs imports) and type (regular vs. organic). Registered (logged-in) users, can access weekly reports and additional market information.

Facts

  • Blueberries are considered a “superfood” because they have such a high concentration of nutrients. Blueberries contain antioxidants, making them a powerful weapon in the fight to prevent cancer. The nutrients in blueberries can improve urinary tract health. Blueberries are also immune-system boosters and can help prevent infection.
  • Eating blueberries has been shown to slow age-related memory loss in rats.
  • The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the following nutrient content descriptors for blueberries: low-fat, saturated fat-free, sodium-free, cholesterol-free, a good source of fiber and a good source of vitamin C.

Sales Strategies

  • Capitalize on blueberries’ popularity by cross-merchandising them with other items including pie shells, shortcake, glazes, muffin mixes, cereal, pancake mix and yogurt.
  • Blueberries are available year-round, but the best time to promote them is in the spring and summer when supplies are plentiful and prices are lower. Try some of these seasonal promotions.
  • Fall: Include blueberries in back-to-school promotions. Encourage consumers to freeze berries and drop them in the lunch box. By the time lunch rolls around, the berries will be ready to eat.
  • Winter: Blueberries are a great addition to holiday fruit salads and desserts. Keep consumers thinking about the berries even when the snow is on the ground by promoting them to health-conscious consumers after the first of the year. Blueberries offer a host of health benefits. Make sure your consumers know about them.
  • Spring: As strawberries come into season, make sure you have blueberries nearby. While strawberry prices come down first, consumers may pick up a variety of berries for a berry salad. Include blueberries in Easter and Mother’s Day promotions.
  • Summer: Make blueberries the blue in red, white and blue promotions for Memorial Day and Fourth of July. Encourage consumers to think of blueberries as quick, portable snack for those summertime outings. Cross-merchandise with ice cream as a topping for a summertime treat. Take advantage of National Blueberry Month in July to promote them.
  • Promote blueberries as an easy-to-freeze fruit, which makes them perfect to buy now and eat later.

Dynamic Displays

  • The days of bulk blueberry displays are a thing of the past. Display blueberries in clamshells of varying sizes to keep your displays looking neat.
  • Don’t stack clamshells as blueberries are fragile and the bottom layer of berries will get squished.
  • Offer blueberries year-round, but beef up your promotions during the spring and summer when prices fall.
  • Blueberries are a favorite as a snack and as a breakfast food, but include preparation tips and recipes on your display to get consumers thinking about adding blueberries to other meals.
  • Brighten your display by adding a hollowed out cantaloupe filled with blueberries as a centerpiece.

Food Service

  • Include blueberries in your breakfast offerings from muffins to pancakes and waffles. Add them to pancake and waffle batter after you pour it on the griddle to avoid smashing the blueberries.
  • Add blueberries to breakfast fruit and yogurt bars.
  • Blueberries make a fabulous addition to desserts from pastries to pies.
  • Drop a few berries in a glass of champagne to create a colorful, elegant garnish.
  • Include blueberries in salads and on salad bars.

In the Backroom

Shipping
12 ½-dry pint cups 12 12-oz. cups 12 8-oz. cups 12 6-oz. cups 12 1-dry pint cups 12 125-gram cups 12 100-gram cups 8 1-quart cups 8 22-oz. cups 6 1-quart cups 6 1-dry pint cups 4 2.5-lb. clamshells Various bulk master packs of 2½, 5, 10 and 20 lbs. are available. RPC 6409, 6411

Grades
United States U.S. No. 1 The grade applies to selected and hybrid varieties of the high-bush blueberry. Size is the general basis for sale. Larger berries bring a higher price. The number required to fill a half-pint measure determines size.

Handling
Color and brightness of fruit will vary depending on varieties. Look for berries that are blue to dark blue in color. Most varieties of fresh blueberries have silver-white frost, which is referred to as “bloom.” Lack of bloom on some varieties may be an indication of excessive handling and lack of freshness. Size doesn’t denote quality or maturity level. If blueberries are exposed to higher than recommended temperatures, shelf life will be reduced significantly and skin will become rough-textured. Temperature: 32 to 34 F, 0 to 1 C Relative humidity: 90-95% Mist: no Typical shelf life: 10 to 18 days Highly sensitive to freezing injuries

Equivalents

1 pint = about 2½cups 1 dry pint = about 33.6 cubic inches 1 dry pint = about 12 oz.

hbf

HBF International LLC

Overview (8)   (0)   (3)  
Business Type:
Exporter, Grower, Shipper, Importer, Wholesaler
Location HQ:
Mc Minnville, 97128 Oregon
Berries:
Blackberries, Blueberries, Cranberries, Raspberries, Red Currants
Tropical Fruit:
Kiwifruit
Specialties:
Gooseberries
fourseasonspro-pmg

Four Seasons Produce Inc HQ

Overview (21)   (11)   (22)  
Business Type:
Exporter, Importer, Wholesaler
Location HQ:
Ephrata, 17522 Pennsylvania
Berries:
Blackberries, Blueberries, Cranberries, Strawberries
Melons:
Cantaloupe
Stone Fruit:
Apricots
Tropical Fruit:
Carambola
Cooking Vegetables:
Leeks, Parsley Root, Parsnips
loff

Loffredo Fresh Produce Co Inc HQ

Overview (7)   (0)   (0)  
Business Type:
Wholesaler, Software & Systems
Location HQ:
Des Moines, 50321 Iowa
Berries:
Blackberries, Blueberries, Cranberries, Raspberries, Strawberries
Citrus:
Grapefruit, Lemons, Limes, Clementines / Mandarins / Tangerines
Deciduous Fruit:
Apples
wholesale

Wholesale Produce Supply LLC HQ

Overview (19)   (8)   (19)  
Business Type:
Broker, Exporter, Importer, Wholesaler
Location HQ:
Minneapolis, 55414 Minnesota
Berries:
Blackberries, Blueberries, Cranberries, Raspberries, Strawberries
Citrus:
Grapefruit, Lemons, Limes, Oranges, Clementines / Mandarins / Tangerines
forrest_wood

Forestwood Farm Inc

Overview (2)   (0)   (7)  
Business Type:
Wholesaler
Location HQ:
Birmingham, 35231 Alabama
Berries:
Blueberries
Citrus:
Grapefruit, Lemons, Limes, Oranges
Deciduous Fruit:
Apples, Figs, Pears
Melons:
Cantaloupe, Watermelon
dlj-produce-logo-high-res-new-1

DLJ Produce Inc HQ

Overview (9)   (0)   (11)  
Business Type:
Broker, Exporter, Shipper, Wholesaler
Location HQ:
Long Beach, 90815 California
Berries:
Blackberries, Blueberries
Citrus:
Lemons
Deciduous Fruit:
Apples, Grapes, Pears
Melons:
Cantaloupe
Stone Fruit:
Apricots, Nectarines, Peaches
franks_logo

Franks Distributing Inc.

Overview (11)   (0)   (2)  
Business Type:
Grower, Shipper, Wholesaler
Location HQ:
Nogales, 85621 Arizona
Deciduous Fruit:
Grapes
Cooking Vegetables:
Eggplant, Green Beans
Salad Vegetables:
Peppers, Bell, Tomatoes, Green Bell Peppers, Red Cherry Tomatoes, Greenhouse/Hydroponic Tomatoes, Red Plum/Roma Tomatoes, Grape Tomatoes
quality__0

First Quality Produce

Overview (4)   (0)   (0)  
Business Type:
Wholesaler, Processor, Foodservice
Location HQ:
Fresno, 93725 California
Berries:
Blackberries, Blueberries, Cranberries, Raspberries, Strawberries, Specialty Berries
Citrus:
Grapefruit, Lemons, Limes, Oranges
afp

American Fruit & Produce Corp

Overview (2)   (0)   (8)  
Business Type:
Exporter, Shipper, Importer, Wholesaler
Location HQ:
Miami, 33147 Florida
Berries:
Blackberries, Blueberries, Cranberries, Raspberries, Strawberries
Citrus:
Grapefruit, Lemons, Limes, Oranges, Clementines / Mandarins / Tangerines
dandreaproduce_logo

Dandrea Produce LLC

Overview (9)   (0)   (7)  
Business Type:
Broker, Grower, Shipper, Importer, Wholesaler
Location HQ:
Vineland, 08361 New Jersey
Berries:
Blackberries, Blueberries, Raspberries, Strawberries
Citrus:
Grapefruit, Lemons, Oranges, Clementines / Mandarins / Tangerines
Deciduous Fruit:
Apples, Grapes








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