HOLLISTER, CA - Berry People, an integrated company which last year hit the ground running with a year-round full-line supply of branded organics, is delighted to announce the launch of its inaugural Chilean blueberry season and its Avo People brand organic avocados from both Mexico and Chile.
Berry People is also announcing a full line of branded conventional berries and avocados to complement its core organic offering, providing North American retailers with a one-stop shop for the two rapidly growing superfruits.
Alongside Chilean blueberries, the company’s Mexican raspberry season is now underway. The organization, together with select third-party growers, holds important organic berry production assets in Mexico and California.
Berry People was founded by three business partners in the U.S. and Mexico – company President Jerald Downs, Chairman Francisco Ortiz, and Gerardo Escalera – who between them have decades of experience in the berry and avocado businesses and significant expertise in the entire supply chain from farm to retail distribution.
By filling a U.S. market need for a consolidated, branded, year-round and balanced portfolio of organic and conventional berries, and thanks to its personal and transparent style of operating, the company has experienced increased demand in its first year and is poised for substantial growth in the near future.
First Chilean Blueberry Season
The first shipments of organic Chilean blueberries begin this September. The fruit is grown in the coastal areas of the Valparaiso and Coquimbo regions, and Downs says that expectations are high for the inaugural season.
“The maturity of the region’s production and the quality of the people we are working with are the setting for an intense and ultimately rewarding season,” says Downs.
“There is a real group effort going on now between our grower-exporters, retailers, and sales team to create transparent, win-win value by synchronizing expectations on pricing and costs, volumes, and promotional activity. This season will be a modest, but solid step forward.”
Conventional, organic and biodynamic blueberries will be offered, helping retailers to fulfil consumers’ rising preferences for healthy and sustainably-grown produce.
Mexican Raspberry Deal
Coming in tandem with the start of the Chilean blueberry season is the beginning of the company’s Mexican raspberry deal. Berry People’s Mexican berries are grown by company shareholders and alliance partners in the states of Michoacán, Jalisco, and Baja California.
The raspberry harvests have already begun, and production is expected to build in October with steady volumes from November onward.
“There is a swell of unmet demand for quality raspberries, and the flow of investment and development of production looks to be outpaced by the demand on the visible horizon,” Downs says.
Quality raspberry production is in relatively few hands at this point, but he says Berry People shareholders have the established acreage and the expertise to maintain a consistent flow of excellent product from season start to finish.
Avo People Avocados
Complementing the company’s full line of branded berries are AvoPeople brand organic and conventional avocados.
Packing of conventional fruit began in the first week of September, and the first harvests of organic avocados from both Mexico and Chile are getting started now.
“While Francisco has been farming avocados since 1972, as a company we are taking the avocado business slowly and methodically, making sure to do right by the farm and by our retailers, making continuity and transparency of business a priority,” says Downs.
“The close personal relationship and end-to-end value chain perspective of the partners allows us to make win-win decisions for all ‘Avo People’ involved.”
Berry People is straddling two very different worlds between the avocado and berry categories, but Downs highlights that the partners are taking a deep-dive expertise approach on each product to ensure success across the board.
Berry People will be at PMA Fresh Summit from October 19-20 and invites anyone attending the event to drop by booth #285 and say hello.
For more information, please visit www.berrypeople.com
