In this episode we explore the importance of information that combines high-level retail data with marketer and producer insights of what’s happening in the market. 

“Information is king. Real numbers, that you can trust, truly drive decision-making.” - Brian Bocock

Host Kasey Cronquist (President of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council and the North American Blueberry Council) is joined by co-host Grant Prentice, Senior Vice President & Director of Strategic Insights at FoodMinds. 

Kasey and Grant have been working together to develop an overall sales and production data strategy for the organization. Grant has been instrumental in facilitating the weekly blueberry retail sales reports that you can subscribe to here.

Joining Kasey and Grant today are: 

Brian Bocock, Michigan blueberry grower, and the Vice President of Sales at Naturipe Farms - one of the largest marketers of blueberries in the United States. Brian also serves as a member of the Promotion Committee at USHBC. He is the recent Alex Wetherbee Award recipient. 

“At retail, merchandising changed. All of a sudden, you had to be engaged with the consumer before they ever got to the store, because blueberries were impulse purchases and now they’re no longer impulse purchases because people are buying online.” - Brian Bocock

Adam Brohimer, President of Category Partners - a strategic insights company focusing exclusively on the fresh industries in the retail grocery channel. Category Partners have played a key role in helping USHBC access and translate Nielsen retail sales data. 

“Fruit is impulse. Berries are impulse. I’d encourage this industry to be very engaged and drive the discussion with retailers. Help the retailers form their strategy as they begin to emphasize this more and more. There’s a lot we don’t know, but there is one thing we do: online is here to stay.” - Adam Brohimer

This episode focuses on retail data & observations, including: 

• What the consumer is looking for 
• How the retailer is selling and promoting blueberries
• How current circumstances in 2020 have impacted the market
• Gathering insights and identifying opportunities through data

Crop Report - June 24, 2020

This segment will appear in each episode to provide an update on what’s happening in the field with voices of growers who many in the industry will recognize. Tune in for reports on crop progress, harvest expectations, and market conditions. In this episode, you’ll hear from Neil Moore in North Carolina, followed by Denny Doyle in New Jersey. Then Jose Luis Bustamante in Mexico, and finished up with Doug Krahmer in Oregon.

“The world is changing right before our eyes, and we have to be nimble. We have to be willing to change. We have to look at everything as if it’s not the best way to do it. Whether it’s packaging and up-sizing the consumer, how we approach the marketplace, how we sell into the marketplace, how we look at our quality, etc.” - Brian Bocock

We’re including “Blueberries Are Essential” posters to hang in your office, packing shed or anywhere you’d like to reflect our pride in what you do. We’ve also developed a series of downloadable “good practices” posters that you can find at www.ushbc.org/resources.