In this installment of the ‘Agronometrics Interviews' series, Sarah Ilyas conducts an exclusive interview with Gerardo A López, Commercial Director at Berry Lovers. The series is based on interviews with esteemed professionals from the industry, focusing on a specific origin or topic visualizing the market factors that are driving change.

Q. Can you share the mission and vision of Berry Lovers and give an overview of the company?

Our vision is to become one of the main suppliers of Mexican berries—blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries. We are always looking for new varieties that can meet consumer preferences. Currently, we supply retail clients directly in North America, including the US and Canada, and we serve the food service sector in those regions as well. Additionally, we export to distributors in Japan, and we’re expanding our blackberry exports to the UK and continental Europe.

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Q. Could you talk about some of the challenges you face as a company? Specifically, what are the key challenges for the blueberry industry?

There are several challenges in Mexico. One of the major issues we’ve experienced over the past two seasons is the weather. We’ve faced the effects of both El Niño and La Niña, which has disrupted production schedules. Mexican blueberries, in the past 2 seasons, have been arriving later and with lower volumes. We used to start exports by early September with good volume, but year after year, we’re seeing less availability.

Labor is another challenge, particularly in the growing regions for all types of berries. However, we’re seeing a lot of opportunities with raspberries. New varieties are coming onto the market, and demand is growing. We’ve been fairly successful in expanding our raspberry exports.

Another challenge we always face is finding the right variety. We test a lot of varieties, and many don’t meet expectations, either from a production standpoint or a quality profile perspective. Some varieties fail due to flavor, size, bloom, or shelf-life issues.

Q. You mentioned that you use Agronometrics data. How do you utilize this data, and how does it benefit your business?

Yes, we check the data from Agronometrics every week. The most important information for us is the volume available from the previous week. That helps us see trends—whether the volume is stable, increasing, or decreasing. This insight helps us predict the market and adjust our pricing strategies for the coming weeks.

Q. How do you work on increasing local berry consumption in Mexico? Are there any specific marketing strategies in place?

In Mexico, there’s always been a high demand for strawberries, but not as much for blueberries, blackberries, or raspberries. As production increases, more fruit becomes available for the domestic market, which pushes marketers, shippers, and growers to focus on local markets. The largest markets for berries are Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey.

Tourism also plays a big role. Hotels are eager to offer berries because tourists are accustomed to eating them at home, so they expect to see them on the menu. This has driven demand for berries within the tourism industry, especially in breakfast or dessert offerings.

Q. Looking ahead, what excites you most about the future of the blueberry industry?

One thing I’m excited about is the development of new varieties. However, it takes time for these new varieties to establish themselves. Breeders need to convince marketers, distributors, and shippers of the potential, and then shippers need to get growers on board to trial them. Growers, in turn, need to be convinced that the variety has production potential.

There has to be a balance between the quality profile of the fruit and the yield per hectare. You could have the best berry in terms of taste and appearance, but if it doesn’t meet production needs, it won’t succeed. Matching those two requirements is key for a variety to be successful.