Dole buys blueberry business
Dole Food Co. has purchased a Florida blueberry company, it said Oct. 11.
Westlake Village-based Dole, the largest producer of organic bananas in the world and of the biggest players in the fresh fruit and vegetable industry, said it had acquired all of the capital stock of the parent of SunnyRidge Farm. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“We are very pleased with our acquisition of SunnyRidge Farm and welcome their management team, employees and growers into the Dole family,” David DeLorenzo, Dole’s president and CEO said in a statement.
SunnyRidge is one of the largest fresh blueberry companies in the U.S. It also sources and sells blackberries, strawberries and raspberries. The berry firm sources its fruit from Georgia, North Carolina, Michigan, California and Canada’s British Columbia, as well as Mexico, Chile and Argentina.
“Their premium blueberry and blackberry operations are an excellent strategic complement to our existing fresh and frozen berry operations, both of which have previously focused on strawberries,” DeLorenzo said.
Blueberries and blackberries are among the fastest growing produce items, he said.
Dole shares were up 0.6 percent to $9.75 in after-hours trading, after the deal was announced.
[wikichart align=”center” ticker=”DOLE” showannotations=”true” livequote=”true” rollingdate=”6 months” width=”390″ height=”245″]
