Ingredient Marketing, Reinvented – Fred Schonenberg on the Blueberry Boost Accelerator

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry 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 partnered with VentureFuel last year to launch the Blueberry Boost Accelerator, a first-of-its-kind program supporting emerging brands using blueberries as a prominent ingredient. Schonenberg reflects on the first year of the program, and builds anticipation for the second accelerator cohort and live pitch competition that will take place at The 2026 Blueberry Convention. 

“The goal is we want to find the companies with the highest growth potential. We want to shorten the time it’s gonna take them to realize that growth and set them up for success. All on the idea of if they’re successful, they’re gonna buy more blueberries. And that’s really the end goal of this.” – Fred Schonenberg

Topics covered include: 

• A description of the Blueberry Boost Accelerator and the goals of the program. 
• A discussion of the accelerator program’s innovative approach to ingredient marketing.
• An overview of what to expect from this year’s accelerator cohort.
• 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! 

Crop Report

The Blueberry Crop Report is an update on crop conditions and markets throughout important blueberry growing areas. Today you’ll hear from Liczy Sotomayor in Mexico and Emilie Parkanzky in Michigan. This was recorded on September 17, 2026.