Introducing Cort Brazelton is almost unnecessary. Its name is associated with the history of the blueberry in the world. The founder of the International Blueberry Organization (IBO) and co-CEO of Fall Creek Farm & Nursery, Inc. is a voice heard in every blueberry growing region, from the snowy mountains of the Balkans to the shores of the Maghreb and the African savannah, from the European countryside to the Far East and Asia, and throughout the Americas, from Alaska to Patagonia.

In the month of August, in which we will celebrate the month of the blueberry, we will have the opportunity to interact from all over the world with this prestigious international analyst, through a virtual conference of free participation and free to which we invite you to register.

Shortly before the pandemic, Cort Brazelton's opinion called “Blueberries from 2019 to 2020: the turning point” was published in various media around the world and in different languages.

From supply to demand

In his words, Brazelton made an analysis of the behavior of the blueberry market in recent years, highlighting to the power of supply as the main trigger for the growth of the industry. 

"Since the blueberry consumption boom began with the release of health messages in the late 90s, industry growth and business opportunities have been primarily driven by supply"

Brazelton in his reflection felt surprised that this reality has lasted so long and the equation has not been converted to be the demand that marks the development of the industry, and not the other way around.

The Co-CEO of FallCreek Farm & Nursery, Inc. warned that this equation was going to turn, because it was impossible that an informed, demanding, monitoring and attentive consumer to sustainability, would not have imposed their conditions by raising quality standards.

Paradigm shift

Cort Brazelton argued that 2020 would be the year of the “paradigm shift” regarding the production, marketing and consumption of blueberry in the world.

"A substantial change is taking place in the expectations of the consumer (B2C) and the final handler and retailer (B2B) regarding the quality offered and the quality demanded", he warned, and assumed that in the coming years the market would still remain supply-driven, but insisting that 2019 was the beginning of the transition from “An industry driven by supply to a quality driven industry”, and made a call to face and adapt to this inevitable reality.

"It's time to really focus on the consumer experience," warned.

2020/2021, a scenario under construction

Reality surpasses fiction has been said many times, and this time it was not different. No one could have foreseen what we have experienced with the pandemic caused by the Coronavirus and Covid-19.

The blueberry industry has managed to overcome the difficulties, but the future of the industry, the demands of the countries and the behavior of the markets and, above all, the new standards of demand and consumers, is still an uncertain and It is not easy to guess exactly what needs to be done to be successful in the next stage.

For this are the experts, to clear these doubts. The truth is that we must face a change that can be transcendental and the sooner we identify it, the more opportunities we will have to insert ourselves correctly.

“Our industry is experiencing a paradigm shift. This new paradigm will challenge the rules of the business model that have worked for years, even decades ”, Brazelton said, and his words get stronger in this new reality.

The Cort Brazelton conference will be held in the context of various activities that will take place in August, the international blueberry month, and in which experts from the USA, Spain, Germany, Chile, Peru, Mexico and Morocco will also participate.

To register for the webinar enter the following link: