
Introduction to MBG Marketing
The Blueberry People
A Grower-Owned Cooperative
MBG
Marketing - The Blueberry People is a producer-owned blueberry marketing
cooperative that was formed in 1936 as the Michigan Blueberry Growers
Association by the original blueberry growers in the state.
MBG quickly gained a leadership role in the Michigan blueberry
industry, and as interest in blueberry production grew in other states,
MBG’s membership base expanded to reflect the trend.
In the late 1940s, MBG extended membership into northern Indiana;
Georgia and Florida in 1983; British Columbia in 2006; North Carolina in
2009; the Pacific Northwest states of Oregon and Washington in 2013, and
New Jersey in 2014. Today,
with a production base of over 300 growers, MBG is the largest
grower-owned marketer of fresh and value-added processed cultivated
blueberries in the world.
MBG Marketing offers its blueberry growers unprecedented service and support in meeting the challenges of the 21st century food
industry. In addition to
expert sales and marketing under the globally recognized brand,
a strong team of tenured professionals offers our grower-owners local
assistance in everything from field scouting and pest management; to
yield estimating, pack planning, and quality assurance programs; to food
safety and social responsibility training; to packaging, packing, and
processing expertise; and to innovative technology and traceability
programs. The cooperative
model of “operating at cost” affords MBG’s members a competitive
advantage in a rapidly expanding industry, and our cash advance and
payment programs have stood the test of time for 79 years!
MBG Marketing, along with its grower-owners, is one of four (4)
owner-partners actively directing and benefiting from Naturipe Farms’
“Win Every Day” berry marketing strategy.
Naturipe is the world’s leading marketer of top-quality fresh
and value-added processed berries, with significant business
relationships with all top-tier customers of blueberries. To better
understand our international Naturipe family of grower-owned
organizations, please see the diagram below:
The cooperative leads the industry with personalized horticultural
services specializing in strategic pest management protocols and
increasing yields with sustainable best practice solutions.
MBG is also actively developing new proprietary blueberry
varieties in its member-owned breeding program, making new cultivars
available exclusively to MBG members and partner producers.
MBG’s own internally developed innovative information technology
applications for field, harvest, and inventory management – continuously
evolving with the feedback of our grower users – allows for full
traceability from the field to the end consumer and is the envy of the
industry. Additionally, new
value-added capacities continue to be developed to serve our members’
needs. And finally, we are
well known industry leaders in both food safety and social
responsibility initiatives, always prepared to meet our customers’
requirements in these arenas; and serving our local communities as good
neighbors, giving back to those who serve us.
MBG’s headquarters are located in Grand Junction, Michigan.
In total, MBG employs over 200 seasonal and full-time people
annually at its various locations.
The cooperative owns and operates state-of-the-art blueberry
receiving, pre-cooling, and distribution facilities in Alma, Georgia and
Grand Junction, Michigan, in addition to local business offices in each
region. MBG also owns
satellite service facilities in Holland and Bangor, Michigan; and
seasonally operates others in Ravenna, Michigan; Ivanhoe, North
Carolina; Demotte, Indiana; and Gainesville, Florida, with member-owned
berry facilities also operating seasonally in British Columbia, Salem,
Oregon, and Hammonton, New Jersey.
MBG launched a value-added fresh operation and distribution
center in Georgia in 2012, and in 2013, brought on line its new IQF
(individually quick frozen) value-added processing and packing facility
in Bloomingdale, Michigan.
In 2014 we added another new “Best in Class” facility in Alma, GA that
includes not only IQF value-added processing and packing operations, but
a second Alma fresh fruit distribution center and a new home for the
fresh value-added business, completing a full range of local member
service capabilities.
An eleven-person Board of Directors, elected by and from MBG’s
member-owners, represents our various membership areas and governs MBG
along with the leadership of Larry Ensfield, Chief Executive Officer, and his
staff. New last year, the
cooperative initiated a “Young Cooperators” program whereby a dozen MBG
family farmers aged 25-45 were selected for an 18-month targeted
development program to ensure MBG continues its legacy of industry
leadership. MBG is comprised
of a grower-member, management, and partner team prepared to meet the
requirements of successful blueberry production, marketing, sales, and
service in this year and in many more to come.