The Business of Blueberries

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist , president of the U.S. Highbush Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council ( NABC ), is joined by Tim Miles, Ph. D ., an associate professor in the Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences at Michigan State University, where he leads the Small Fruit and Hop Pathology Program. Miles’ research focuses on the d...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist , president of the U.S. Highbush Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council ( NABC ), is joined for the fourth time by Patricio Muñoz, Ph. D. , associate professor of blueberry breeding and genomics and the Endowed Chair of Horticulture Crop Breeding at the University of Florida. When he’s not shaping the future of b...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist , president of the U.S. Highbush Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council ( NABC ), reflects on 2025 and shares some of the most impactful insights that emerged from the last season of the podcast. Common themes of interest over the last year include quality, genetics and global supply and demand. “ What's not to b...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist , president of the U.S. Highbush Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council ( NABC ), is joined by Jaclyn Bennett , general manager at Parabug , a company that’s changing the game when it comes to pest management. We caught up with Bennett at The Blueberry Convention back in October. Founded in 2016, Parabug uses dro...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist , president of the U.S. Highbush Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council ( NABC ), is joined by Luis Vegas , general manager of Proarándanos , and Miguel Bentin , founder of Valle y Pampa. Vegas leads his organization’s efforts to represent and promote Peru’s blueberry industry worldwide, providing critical market...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist , president of the U.S. Highbush Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council ( NABC ), brings us back to Seattle for an episode recorded at The 2025 Blueberry Convention. He’s joined by Georgia blueberry grower Alex Cornelius and dried fruit producer and processor Dominic Meduri . Cornelius shares the impact the USHBC...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist , president of the U.S. Highbush Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council ( NABC ), is joined by Ray Starling , general counsel for the North Carolina Chamber of Commerce and an adjunct professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Starling serves North Carolina’s business community through statewid...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist , president of the U.S. Highbush Council ( USHBC ) and North American Blueberry Council ( NABC ), is joined by the finalists from the Blueberry Boost Accelerator . These interviews were recorded on Blueberry Lane at The Blueberry Convention 2025 in Seattle, Washington. Cronquist interviews each finalist about their business, and rec...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist , president of the U.S. Highbush Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council, is joined by Ben Escoe , president and CEO of Twin River Berries. Twin River is a vertically integrated berry company built on a foundation of family farming and global reach. Escoe leads a network of U.S. farms and partners across Mexico, C...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist , president of the U.S. Highbush Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council ( NABC ), is joined by Garland Reiter Jr. , chief commercial officer (CCO) for Driscoll’s of the Americas and a fourth-generation berry industry leader. Reiter is known for driving innovation, sustainability and strategic growth across the be...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Inez Be , U.S. Highbush Council ( USHBC ) and North American Blueberry Council ( NABC ) director of marketing, is joined by the finalists from the Blueberry Boost Accelerator . The accelerator was launched earlier this year to fuel forward-thinking product innovation and elevate blueberries as a hero ingredient by supporting visionary startups. Fro...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist , president of the U.S. Highbush Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council ( NABC ), is joined by Matias Allesandrini , commercial manager at LaFrut and a member of the Chilean Blueberry Committee (CBC) Board of Directors. With his dual roles, which are both commercial and technical, Allesandrini is uniquely positio...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist , president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council ( NABC ), is joined by Minghua Tang , Ph. D . , and Leslie Wada , Ph. D . Tang is an associate professor and the Lillian Fountain Smith Endowed Chair in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition at Colorado State University...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Inez Be , director of marketing at the U.S. Highbush Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council ( NABC ), is joined by VentureFuel Founder and CEO Fred Schonenberg . VentureFuel is an innovation advisory firm that helps major brands, such as Netflix and General Mills, unlock growth through startup collaborations. The USHBC has partn...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” we welcome guest host Steve Mantle , founder and CEO of Innov8.ag and USHBC’s partner in the BerrySmart Field program, who is joined by   Tim Hyde , CEO and co-founder of SWAN Systems . They’re coming to you live from the fields at this year's Washington State Berrysmart Field Demo Day in Mount Vernon, Washington. Together, they discuss how tech in...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist , president of the U.S. Highbush Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council, is joined by Harry Kaiser, Ph. D. , a professor at Cornell University. Kaiser directs the Cornell Commodity Promotion Research Program and conducts economic evaluations for national agricultural marketing programs, including the USHBC. In th...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist , president of the U.S. Highbush Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC) , is joined by Amanda Griffin , vice president of engagement and education for USHBC/NABC. Cronquist and Griffin discuss how blueberry industry events have evolved throughout the years, and why gatherings like The Blueberry Convention,...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist , president of the U.S. Highbush Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council, is joined by USHBC Chair Bryan Sakuma. As a fourth-generation grower, Sakuma brings deep industry experience to his role as a leader of strategic initiatives for the blueberry industry. His passion for blueberries and vision for collaboratio...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist , president of the U.S. Highbush Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council, is joined by Dennis Tootelian , Ph. D., an emeritus professor of marketing in the College of Business at California State University, Sacramento. Tootelian is also a nationally recognized expert in economic impact research for agriculture, w...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist , president of the U.S. Highbush Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council ( NABC ), is joined by Steve Mantle , founder and CEO of Innov8.ag . Mantle and his team have been working closely with USHBC to transform high-tech field data into actionable insights. With test fields already established, Mantle is here to...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist , president of the U.S. Highbush Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council ( NABC ), is joined by Ken Gilliam , vice president of predictive analysis at The Directions Group , and Cassidy Marn , account executive at The Directions Group. Together, Gilliam and Marn turn insights into real-world game plans, get teams...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist , president of the U.S. Highbush Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council ( NABC ), is joined by Lucas Thelosen , founder and CEO of Gravity, and Joe Vargas , director of business intelligence for USHBC and NABC. Thelosen has been at the forefront of leveraging technology to transform industries, and today he and V...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist , president of the U.S. Highbush Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council ( NABC ), is joined by Mario Steta , chair of the International Blueberry Organization (IBO) and vice president of sustainability, compliance and public affairs for Driscoll’s Europe, Middle East and Africa. With deep experience in global ber...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist , president of the U.S. Highbush Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council ( NABC ), is joined by Paul Sandefur, Ph. D. , vice president of research and development at Fall Creek Farm and Nursery. Sandefur received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in  horticulture from the University of Arkansas, and his doc...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist , president of the U.S. Highbush Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC) , is once again joined by Leslie Wada , Ph. D., and Alyssa Houtby . Dr. Wada is our very own senior director of nutrition and health research at the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council. She’s responsible for furthering the reputation and a...