Shoppers in select Sprouts Farmers Markets stores in California earlier this year might have thought the Pink Cosmo blueberries were the work of a shrewd marketer who saw an opportunity for yet another Barbie-themed product.
No, it was just serendipity that the not-blue blueberry, which has been in development for about 10 years, made its retail debut at the same time the Barbie movie case was sweeping the nation. The Pink Cosmo, a naturally occurring phenomenon due to a dominant recessive gene for pigment, will be available for licensing by California Berry Genetics, Selma, California and is being grown by G&M Farms; both are owned by Greg Willems. The University of Georgia’s breeding program develops the berries Willems brings to market. UGA professor emeritus Scott NeSmith has developed the berries for California Berry Genetics.
The Pink Cosmo blueberry was available in select Sprouts Farmers Market stores in California this summer. Supplies will increase next season, but will still be limited. Photo courtesy of Kristyn Lawson.
This year was a trial production year, with limited quantities going to select G&M customers, along with some samples that went to accounts in the Pacific Rim. Willems said the company expects to have “marketable” volumes next season, although supplies will still be limited to California and a few export markets.
Pink Cosmo has a long picking window for a blueberry, from around July 4 to Aug. 20.
“They ripen over a long period of time, which is nice; I don’t have to have a big crew to pick them,” Willems said. “We’re kind of glad for it to ripen longer, so we can offer it to our customers for a longer period of time.”
California Berry Genetics has been “getting hammered” with interest following the Pink Cosmo introduction.
“It’s been explosive,” Willems said. “People are really interested in this. This is something new, and obviously berries are the hot thing, with antioxidants and snacking. We believe it will be a hit. I took them home and different people came around and said ‘Wow!’”
The pink berries taste similar to a sweet white nectarine and aren’t acidic, he said.
Coming next year: Monica
California Berry Genetics, which focuses on development of low- or no-chill varieties that can be grown in southern states, has another variety in development: Monica, which is a large variety. The berries are named after Greg’s wife; she spotted the unusually large berries while walking their test block.
Greg Willems, owner of California Berry Genetics, said Monica
blueberries grow uniformly in size on the plant, which cuts down on harvest labor because they require fewer pickings. Photo courtesy of California Berry Genetics.
“We’ve got some spectacular stuff, we’re talking 24-28 mm fruit, that are crunchy and large,” he said.
Large blueberries tend to have a bigger stem scar, which is damage to the berry when it is harvested. Bigger stem scars cause mold and a shorter shelf life. The skin is also thicker than that of a typical large blueberry.
“We did some refrigeration trials, and we had them almost three weeks in the refrigerator before they started to wrinkle a little bit,” Greg Willems said. “ … We’re looking for bloom, size, crunch, flavor, durability and when we pick that berry off, I don’t want a big stem scar so there’s not an area where fungus and other pathogens start decaying the berry.”
Other positive attributes, he said, include a blue color all the way to the stem and size uniformity, allowing for just three picks instead of the typical five to seven picks for most blueberries. That lessens the need for labor he said, and with Monica’s durability, there’s a possibility it can be harvested mechanically.
While G&M Farms will have the exclusive rights to Pink Cosmo and Monica in the U.S., Willems said there are plans to license growers in other countries to produce them.