The Business of Blueberries

The impacts of COVID-19 were felt in nearly every industry, but few more acutely and suddenly than the restaurant industry. Across the world, foodservice had to quickly adapt to a world that was ordering take-out food as restaurants sat empty. But with every crisis comes an opportunity to adapt and innovate, which is where the “Restaurant of the Future” comes in. On today’s episode, we have a wide-ranging conversation about the state of the foodservice industry and what comes next as the world emerges from a pandemic. Hosts Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Jeremy Kay, head of design at USHBC foodservice agency partner Sterling-Rice Group (SRG), and Tamra Scroggins, executive chef & director of culinary at Grill Concepts.“We really had to take a step back to move forward . … I firmly believe that we are in this era now of rapid change and we will see things coming out of this pandemic that will change the way we service restaurants and how we engage in this space forever.” - Jeremy Kay“[Blueberries] fit so well in so many things — you can put them in a savory dish, you can put them in a sweet dish, you can do both a sweet and savory dish. I think they’re pretty versatile and they’re just got an awesome color. I don’t think it’s a trend — I think people will shift toward eating healthier, being healthier and eating things that are healthy for them.” - Tamra ScrogginsWatch the Restaurant of the Future video here. Topics covered include: What to expect from restaurants as we come out of the pandemic. How restaurants changed their business models. Engaging civic leaders on keeping outdoor dining environments. How the pandemic inspired health-conscious restaurant menus and how blueberries are used on these menus. SRG and USHBC’s “Restaurant of the Future.”  Crop ReportThe Blueberry Crop Report is an update on crop conditions and markets throughout North and South America. In this episode, you’ll hear from Juan Soria Morales in Mexico and Andres Armstrong in Chile. This was recorded on March 17, 2021.

After rethinking the mechanical harvester, FineField created a tool it deemed “The Harvy.” As opposed to mechanical over-the-row (OTR) harvesting machines, The Harvy has low investment costs and provides higher quality berries. In this episode, we talk to two industry members who were involved with the development of the Harvy and discuss how FineField came up with its innovative mechanical harvesting solution. Hosts Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), and Rod Cook, industry veteran and the chair of the Blueberry Technology and Innovation Committee, are joined by Marcel Beelen, director of FineField in the Netherlands, and Dean Maerz of Klaassen Farms in Abbotsford, B.C.“It was obvious [the industry] needed a product that could increase productivity, but could solve the main problem of mechanical harvesters — which is quality and loss of product. With that in mind, we said ‘OK, we need to have a guiding design principle … no bruising no losing’” - Marcel Beelen“Nobody had really rethought [mechanical harvesting] from the ground up. And that’s what I was looking for; I was looking for a different approach, something groundbreaking. Eventually, I narrowed my search down to three companies — all three were in Europe — but the innovation at FineField stood out above the crowd to me. ” - Dean MaerzTopics covered include: Maerz and Beelen’s backgrounds. How FineField was founded.The design principles of FineField’s mechanical harvester.The importance of industry feedback when developing machinery for the blueberry industry. Crop ReportThe Blueberry Crop Report is an update on crop conditions and markets throughout North and South America. In this episode, you’ll hear from Luis Vegas in Peru. This was recorded on March 10, 2021.

With over 25 years of experience in grower relations, marketing, growing and business development for the blueberry industry, Bo Slack is a natural choice to be the chair of the Industry Relations Committee for USHBC. On this week’s episode, host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Slack for a comprehensive update on USHBC’s industry relations efforts. “The USHBC and the NABC have been critical for our organization and myself to grow and really stay in touch with the grower community and the blueberry industry.”  - Bo Slack“Aligning our strategic goals is so crucial to how we invest for the future and how we grow the blueberry category.” - Bo SlackTopics covered include: Overview of the USHBC Industry Relations Committee and its current goals.Navigating industry outreach during the pandemic. Takeaways from the recent USHBC Industry Relations survey. Facilitating the USHBC elections process. Crop ReportThe Blueberry Crop Report is an update on crop conditions and markets throughout North and South America. In this episode, you’ll hear from Juan Soria Morales in Mexico, Luis Vegas in Peru and Andres Armstrong in Chile. This was recorded on March 3, 2021.