Blueberries are pretty cool, aren’t they?
We assume you agree, because most likely you purchased our blueberries and scanned that handy little QR code to find out more about the fruit you’re enjoying (or, about to enjoy).
Growing a really, really good blueberry. The right way.
We have a pretty special story to tell
It’s not an exciting knight-in-shining-armor story about good versus evil. Rather, a story about a family who decided they would try and grow a really, really good blueberry. The right way.
Our blueberries are all grown in the heart of Washington state – the dry, desert part. The Cascade Mountains keep nearly all incoming rain from the Pacific Ocean on the coastal rainforests. Our neck of the woods receives less rain than Phoenix, Arizona – weird, right? Not something you think of when you think of Washington. But it’s true.
Traditionally, blueberries aren’t grown here. But in 2003, the Zirkle family, the growers behind Rainier Fruit, asked a simple question: why not? The family had already been growing apples in Washington for five generations.
So they did
Well, that makes it sound easier than it was.
There were years of trial and error – after all, doing something that had never been done before doesn’t happen overnight.
Not only were we on a mission to grow the very best blueberry the world had ever seen, but we were also equally concerned with treating the land right so that it would continue to grow our delicious blueberries for generations to come. And the best way to keep the earth happy and healthy is to farm organically. So that’s how it’s always been – 100% organically grown, by one family, out in the Washington desert.
There’s an advantage to growing here in the rain shadow of the mountains. The dry climate helps us control things. Because there isn’t that constant rain, we can calculate just how much water the plants get in order to produce the most crisp, the most burst-in-your-mouth berry on the planet. We’re also always working to find the varieties that produce the very best berries. Currently, we have around 10 varieties that we grow, including several varieties that we’re testing to be the next best thing.
But treating the land right wasn’t enough. There’s a lot of labor that goes into growing and harvesting blueberries. Each blueberry is hand picked! Plus, there are at least three harvest passes. As you can imagine, it takes many hands to make light of that work. That’s why Rainier had their ranches and packing facility certified by the Equitable Food Initiative (EFI), a rigorous third-party certification that increases assurance around working conditions and food safety. Rainier has always believed in doing the right thing, simply because it’s the right thing to do. And we wanted to prove it by getting all our fancy certifications so you can rest assured our products are backed by the highest standard.
You see, just because it hadn’t been done before, that doesn’t make it impossible.
Sometimes it really pays off, in this case we think you will agree. There’s something a little different about a Rainier blueberry, raised with care and love, handpicked with integrity, grown the way nature intended, and born out of innovation.
You see, just because it hadn’t been done before, that doesn’t make it impossible.
Sometimes it really pays off, in this case we think you will agree. There’s something a little different about a Rainier organic blueberry, raised with care and love, handpicked with integrity, grown the way nature intended, and born out of innovation.
