ts some of that long anticipated winter rain, spring is emerging in California Giant's berry fields. The company is expecting a record North American blueberry crop that it set to begin by the end of this month. "Our California coast should ramp-up the last week of March with a peak in mid-April followed by the Central Valley through June. Georgia should start in late April and carry on through late June as well" says Evan Pence, California Giant Operations Manager for North America.
With the Chilean blueberry season winding down for the company, the blueberry crop from North America should fill the pipeline at an opportune time.
California Giant Berry Farms has been building their blueberry program every year consistently for the past several years and looking forward to another increase this season. "Overall, we are forecasting a 40% increase over last year in total volume, mostly due to maturing acreage in California, Oregon and British Columbia as well as the addition of our new grower in Georgia" says Pence.
Following up on that volume and continued increased consumer demand for blueberries, California Giant has developed marketing efforts to capture more consumer interest in their brand. Research just released by U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council shows in 2013, consumers were more likely to buy blueberries in the coming year than they were in 2004 or 2008, and likely to buy them more often. That along with other positive purchasing behaviour data is encouraging, and California Giant is ready with the launch this week of their complete new fresh blueberry recipe e-booklet filled with unique and delicious recipes developed by consumers that entered their recent blueberry recipe contest partnered with Concord Foods.
Additionally, California Giant's fresh strawberry season has kicked off in California much sooner than expected due to mild weather and spring-like conditions along with the lack of winter rain. "Even with this recent storm, the lack of rainfall is very unusual so we are not sure what to expect with plant vigor at this point. We are still looking forward to a strong California season, but as usual it is all up to Mother nature" says Anthony Gallino, VP of Sales for California Giant. "Additionally, this recent rain over the weekend is definitely welcomed throughout the state." Gallino continues.
There is optimism that a late Easter closer to Mother's Day will also benefit all fresh berries coming into production as winter weather will hopefully subside in receiving markets. "We look forward to working with our retail partners to promote throughout the spring and summer as California weather gets into a normal pattern", adds Gallino.
