The recently formed Polish Blueberry Cooperative, which is made up of Polish companies Elliot, BerryGroup and Polskie Jagody and debuted at this year’s Fruit Logistica in Berlin, has enjoyed a productive opening few months as it looks to spread the country’s blueberry message across the globe.
Winter and spring has been a busy time for the organisation, as following Fruit Logistica the group was represented at a Japanese event before formally representing the Polish blueberry industry at the Global Berry Congress, which took place in Rotterdam in March. Representatives of the cooperative have expressed their delight at the early progress the group has made and the reception of the market to the initiative.
“Many clients have expressed interest in working with the Polish Blueberry Cooperative, especially in light of general growing demand on the blueberry market,” explains Dorota Zęgota, president of producer group Elliot. “They are aware that we not only have high volumes, but also have the highest production and quality standards enabling us to export fruit to four continents.”
“Our ‘30 minutes’ standard, which means that we strive to pre-cool all of our fruit within half an hour from picking, constitutes a guarantee of freshness and excellent shelf-life,” adds Agata Małkiewicz of Polskie Jagody.
The future is bright for Poland’s blueberry segment, although it will take a lot of hard work and effort on the part of the cooperation, which is expecting to have plenty on its plate over the coming months. This will be boosted by the introduction of the Polish Blueberry Cooperative’s new brand, ‘Berry Good’, to both the European and Asian markets.
“We strongly believe that we can deliver on the promise of the new Berry Good brand,” outlines Mateusz Pilch of BerryGroup. “Consumers in Poland and elsewhere are looking for healthy, high-quality produce which they can be sure to get every time. Consistency is of the essence here and with our infrastructure and experience, we know how to achieve it.”
