Podcast: How Blueberries are Driving Ingredient Marketing
September 15, 2025 | 4 min to read
In a recent episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Inez Be of the U.S. Highbush Council discusses the launch of the Blueberry Boost Accelerator with Fred Schonenberg, CEO of VentureFuel. This innovative program aims to support emerging brands that prominently feature blueberries, enhancing growth through startup collaborations. Schonenberg shares insights on its potential impact for blueberry stakeholders, emphasizing the program’s importance in driving industry growth. Attendees can meet finalists and sample products at the upcoming Blueberry Convention.
In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Inez Be, director of marketing at the U.S. Highbush Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by VentureFuel Founder and CEO Fred Schonenberg.
VentureFuel is an innovation advisory firm that helps major brands, such as Netflix and General Mills, unlock growth through startup collaborations. The USHBC has partnered with VentureFuel to launch the Blueberry Boost Accelerator, a first-of-its-kind program supporting emerging brands using blueberries as a prominent ingredient. Schonenberg is a frequent speaker at top industry events like SXSW and Shoptalk, and holds executive education credentials from Harvard, MIT Sloan and Columbia Business School. He shares the value and purpose of such an innovative program and the benefit it can offer blueberry stakeholders.
Topics covered include:
- An introduction to Schonenberg and his work at VentureFuel.
- A description of the Blueberry Boost Accelerator and what it hopes to achieve.
- The impact this intensive program can have for innovative startups with a blueberry focus.
Learn more about the Blueberry Boost Accelerator today and meet the finalists – and sample their products – at the upcoming Blueberry Convention!