Naturipe Farms' John Johnston Discusses Strategic Innovation and Growth of Premium Berry Varieties

SALINAS, CA - John Johnston loves being a part of the berry business, and it shows. Naturipe Farms’ Director of Premium Product recently took a moment to lend me some of his enthusiasm as the supplier celebrates record volumes of premium blueberries, diving into the methods that have delivered a meeting of quality and quantity.

“When it comes to varieties like Mighty Blues™ and Sweet Selections™, it starts with investments in breeding. Naturipe has done this heavily over many, many years, providing exciting new varieties to enable us to offer a better-tasting, better overall experience to consumers,” he shares.

The result, John tells me, is a loyal customer reeled in by large sizing and vibrant colors and brought back by flavor and texture that Naturipe has carefully ensured by putting a high-crunch, sweet berry in every pack of something as promising as Sweet Selections.

“We are seeing the return on this—the Sweet Premium Blueberry category grew 45 percent, and achieved 15 million lbs as of June, with great responses from consumers coming in,” John points out. “It blows me away how strong the segment continues to grow.”

As for the Mighty Blues, John says that over the past three years, this particular premium product has been making a name for itself and expanding its reach across segments.

“Our Mighty Blues are called that not just because of their size,” he points out. “It is also about being mighty in flavor. So they taste as Mighty as they look.”

Naturipe has seen such growth that, for the first time this year, it has introduced the organic Mighty Blues program.

“We couldn’t achieve this without the work of our grower organizations. It’s more difficult to grow organically, and it takes a different sort of commitment—the challenges of growing organically are one thing, then trying to grow them big requires investment in new varieties and so many additional factors we couldn’t accomplish without their expertise,” John expresses.

The expansion also marks a new innovation milestone, he points out, fueling the supplier’s commitment to continue growing the Mighty Blue program year over year.

“The new market share for Premium blueberry items is now at just under 10 percent combined. Consumers respond very well to the health benefits, the portability—that you can just pop them in the mouth on the go, and they have a good shelf-life for retailers and customers,” John says.

As we discuss the journey to such a milestone, John reminds me of what it takes to make a variety, then a brand, succeed.

“Naturipe is on the leading edge of innovation, with a commitment to bringing exciting new products to the market that create enthusiasm to drive consumers to the shelf to try some new exciting flavors. There is a growing consumer base excited to try new things and being rewarded with deliciously sweet berries,” he concludes, adding it is a win-win for the entire chain. “Premium berries are lower-yielding at times, which can cost more, but consumers are willing to pay a bit more for that wow factor on the first try that we can offer.”

Gaining consumer interest and consumer trust—John leaves me with the assurance that what he and his team are doing is taking the gamble out of buying berries.