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 Ken Patterson, NABC chair and co-owner of Island Grove Ag Products, to offer some holiday greetings and preview the upcoming NABC/USHBC Spring Meetings in Tampa, Florida, in early March.

“I wanted to be on the forefront of understanding where this industry was going to go and help however I can to push it in that direction.” - Ken Patterson

“You develop relationships and that’s what this business is about … there’s nothing like shaking somebody’s hand, looking them in the eye and talking about blueberries.” - Ken Patterson

Topics include:

• Patterson’s extensive experience in the blueberry industry and what has changed since he started.
• The role Florida has in kicking off the domestic blueberry growing season. 
• Why and how Patterson got involved in NABC and his impact on NABC’s policy positions.  
• A preview of the upcoming Spring Meetings and what to expect if you’re attending in Tampa. 

The 2022 Spring Meetings will take place on March 1-4 in Tampa, Florida. Registration will open in early January.

Marketing Boost

Since launching Grab a Boost of Blue in early 2021, USHBC has centered its promotional programming around this motivating call to action and worked with many in our industry to use it in their marketing as a rallying cry for consumers to buy more blueberries. In this week’s Marketing Boost, USHBC/NABC Vice President of Marketing and Communications Jennifer Sparks details the hard work and collaboration that has led to an exciting milestone to cap off year one of Grab a Boost of Blue: It’s now being featured on blueberry packaging!