The Business of Blueberries

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist , president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council ( NABC ), discusses the tactics and leverage retailers across the country have experienced with the Grab a Boost of Blue campaign. The audio is taken from the retail-focused session at The Blueberry Summit last month in Nashvil...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council ( NABC ), is joined by Grant Prentice , senior vice president of strategic insights at Padilla FoodMinds. Cronquist and Prentice discuss the recently conducted study on blueberry Usage and Attitude (U&A) study, which provide...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist , president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council ( NABC ), shares an overview of key trends impacting global blueberry production and consumption. These clips were recorded for a webinar hosted by the International Fresh Produce Association . Cronquist was joined by colleague...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council ( NABC ), is joined by Steve Magami , co-founder and chairman of Agrovision . Agrovision is a vertically integrated grower, packer, shipper and marketer of blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and table grapes from Perú, Mexic...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council ( NABC ), is joined by New Jersey blueberry grower Art Galletta . Galletta shares his experience growing up as a familiar name in the blueberry industry and his family’s history in the business. He also discusses the New Jersey...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist , president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council ( NABC ), is joined by Micah Weiss , sales and grower support at Fall Creek Farm & Nursery and USHBC/NABC’s own Amanda Griffin , vice president of engagement and education. Micah is part of the inaugural class of the Bluebe...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council ( NABC ), is joined by Joe Vargas , director of business intelligence at USHBC/NABC, and John Marshall , vice president of services at Bytecode IO . USHBC and NABC recently refreshed their organizational and programming strategi...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council ( NABC ), is joined by Pamela Taylor , senior vice president and chief communications and marketing officer for Share Our Strength . As part of the journey to make blueberries the world’s favorite fruit, USHBC celebrated grabbin...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist , president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), reflects on two full years of creating the podcast. In this short episode, Cronquist shares the impact the show’s had on the industry, and asks for your feedback. Please fill out the podcast listener survey.  “I want...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council ( NABC ), is joined by Brad Moorer , president and CEO of MBG Marketing . MBG Marketing is a producer-owned blueberry cooperative that was formed in 1936 as the Michigan Blueberry Growers Association. Moorer took over the presid...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council ( NABC ), is joined by Brad Moorer , president and CEO of MBG Marketing . MBG Marketing is a producer-owned blueberry cooperative that was formed in 1936 as the Michigan Blueberry Growers Association. Moorer took over the presid...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council ( NABC ), is joined by Mollie Van Lieu , vice president of nutrition and health at the International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA). Her work centers on increasing access and consumption of fruits and vegetables, and improving...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist , president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council ( NABC ), is joined by Catherine Lindell, Ph. D . , Associate Professor at the Center for Integrative Biology where she also serves as Graduate Program Director. Alongside her research team, she combines theoretical and applied...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council ( NABC ), is joined by Karen Ross , secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture ( CDFA ). Secretary Ross discusses some of the challenges and opportunities facing California agriculture and, more generally, sp...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council ( USHBC ) and the North American Blueberry Council ( NABC ), dives into the impact of two extreme weather patterns experienced over the past year in the Pacific Northwest. Between severe heat and flooding events, blueberry producers have been faced with significant obstacles and...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), dives into some exciting research regarding the cognitive benefits of incorporating blueberries into your daily diet . Cronquist is joined by NABC/USHBC Senior Director of Nutrition and Health Research Leslie Wada, Ph. D ....

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), turns our focus to Mexico. Jose Luis Bustamante, chair of Aneberries and general manager of Naturipe Berry Growers in Mexico, and Juan Jose Flores, executive director of Aneberries, discuss the country’s growth in the blue...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), shares a few highlights from the first 100 episodes of the podcast. These sound bites emphasize the importance of unity and collaboration to delight blueberry customers and consumers every single time. You’ll hear from ind...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Steve Mantle of Innov8 Ag . Cronquist and Mantle are also joined by USHBC/NABC vice president of engagement and education Amanda Griffin to discuss the new BerrySmart Field Project . “So the BerrySmart Field P...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), introduces Joe Vargas, the first-ever USHC/NABC director of business intelligence. Vargas and Cronquist are joined by Tom Barnes of Category Partners and Grant Prentice of Padilla FoodMinds to discuss the blueberry industr...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Brooke Hill of Southern Hill Farms in Clermont, Florida. Hill was a panelist on the USHBC’s “Best Practices for U-Pick Blueberries” webinar presented in 2020.   “We leaned heavily on (the community) and t...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Brian Bocock , vice president of product management at Naturipe Farms. You heard from him back in Episode 002 and Episode 046 . Now back for his third appearance, Bocock provides his outlook on what’s ahead fo...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the USHBC and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Itai Kanot , COO and co-founder of BeeHero . Kanot is the son of the largest commercial beekeeper in Israel, and that background ultimately led him to co-founding BeeHero in 2017. He shares about bee health, pollination and how technology can...

Travel with us to the USHBC Spring Forward event in Tampa with “The Business of Blueberries” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC). In this episode, we hear highlights from the B2B Targets Panel with Adam Croissant of Chobani, Shane Schaibly of First Watch and moderator Amy Shipley of Sterling Rice Group (SRG)...

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the USHBC and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Tom Avinelis, founder and managing partner at Agriculture Capital, for a discussion about the growing organic industry and the evolving standards that guide this market. “(Organic) is an industry that’s grown from roughly $14 billion in total...