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 David Krause, CEO of Frutura. Recently, this California-based fruit sales and marketing company announced it was acquiring two berry businesses: Sun Belle and Giddings Fruits. Before joining Frutura, Krause served as president of Wonderful Citrus, the largest integrated grower, packer and shipper of fresh citrus in the world, with 58,000+ acres of company-owned-and-operated farmland in California, Texas and Mexico. 

“You just have to have a pulse to understand what the potential consumption and how much the growth in this particular area has been. When you're in fresh produce and you think about, you know, the growing categories, you have to be in blueberries, right? It's just so much runway, and at the same time, it's such an interesting space.” – David Krause

 Topics covered include: 

• An exploration of Krause’s journey in agriculture and how it led to his leadership role at Frutura.
• A look at how Frutura’s expansion into berries could contribute to the industry. 
• Krause’s perspective on the power of up-and-coming blueberry genetics, and the trajectory he feels the blueberry industry is on.

Crop Report

The Blueberry Crop Report is an update on crop conditions and markets throughout important blueberry growing areas. You’ll hear from Daniel Bustamante in Peru and Mario Ramirez in Mexico. This was recorded on January 4, 2024.