"Mexico: "Berry category stands apart"

Mexican berry exporter BQ Fruits kicked off its berry export season in October and is well underway. Grown in Colima, Michoacán and Jalisco, they are bringing a wide array of raspberries, blueberries and blackberries to some very demanding markets. Destinations like Japan, Italy and The Netherlands make for some of the more strict import conditions.

Nadia Martínez comments: “BQ Fruits’ plantations pretty much escaped damages from hurricane Patricia earlier this year, as the increased rainfall was effectively countered by a harvest and shipping stop. Meanwhile growers of bananas and papayas in the same area in Colima did suffer some setbacks however.”

The blackberry variety that is being grown is called Tupi, blueberries are of the Biloxi variety and amongst the raspberry varieties are Adelita, Erica, Lupita and Himbo Top, most of which are patented. “The packing which is most commonly requested by the market is the traditional boxes of 12 clamshells with 125 grams. These are branded with the BQ Fruits brand, which stands for Best Quality Fruits and this is a brand which is featured in supermarkets and retail promotions,” Martínez explains.

To guarantee good results, much emphasis is placed on logistics. “To manage a secure cold chain is really our best marketing. We keep transit times to a minimum to safeguard the freshness and quality of our fruit from Mexico. Making sure that the fruit that consumers receive is always in optimal condition keeps our customers loyal. We develop and test different kinds of packaging to offer optimum protection,” Nadia points out.

“While some fruits compete with each other for the same customer, the berries category kind of stands apart. The only competition for our berries might come from strawberries or red currants perhaps. However, with the health benefits attributed to blueberries for instance, customers tend to be quite loyal and the strength of demand keeps increasing,” says Nadia. For the current season, which is expected to last well into May next year, this represents reasons for optimism.

To meet demands of all customers and keep in touch with the various markets, the team of BQ Fruits attends many international events, this season including visits to Moscow, PMA, Asia Fruit Logistica and the upcoming Fruit Logistica edition in Berlin. Branding end communications with end consumers happens mostly through social media however.

For more information:
Nadia S. Martínez
BQ Fruits
+521 33 1138 1044
nsmartinez@bqfruits.com
www.bqfruits.com