Mountain Wild Blueberries

Tradition

From the 'family camp' on top of Canaan Mountain in Nova Scotia, just north of the Bay of Fundy and for miles along the mountain slope, are some of our colorful fields, a verdant green and blue during the summer, just prior to harvest and a bright sea of orange and red during the fall.

At the core of the business are substantial blueberry land holdings of wild blueberry fields spread almost equally between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick that have generated a livelihood for the Collins family for more than three generations.

The family has demonstrated its know-how of the wild blueberry growing and harvesting business by designing and building some of its own equipment, exceeding industry standards for yields and efficiency during harvest time.

For nearly a decade, prior to acquiring and building it's own IQF frozen blueberry processing facility in Franklin, Maine, the family was a minority stakeholder in a wild blueberry processing plant in Quebec.

Our People

George E. Collins, today's family patriarch and visionary, inherited the growing business from his parents and developed it into one of the largest independent wild blueberry growing operations in Atlantic Canada; from several hundred thousand pounds annually, farming operations have grown to several million pounds today, with more fertile blueberry land coming on stream every year.

John Collins, his eldest son has spearheaded the move from only growing fresh berries into securing higher value from IQF freezing in a company owned facility in Franklin, Maine acquired during the spring of 2013. As CEO of the new operation, Franklin Processing Inc., John's operational and technical skill set, combined with his business leadership, has overseen the commissioning and start-up of the processing operation during the summer of 2014.

Chris Collins manages internal financial controls, supplier relations and general administration for the group; finally, Mike and Cory Collins bring technical and operational skills to the running of the business.

Michael H. Condé of Nova Business Ventures, a business advisory service, has provided valuable assistance in key strategic and operational areas as well as in-market business development. His background includes several decades in senior food processing and international marketing and business development management.

Over the years, our methods of growing and harvesting wild blueberries has undergone dramatic changes. We have invested in equipment and practices that are much quicker and more efficient but we still put great care into providing our customers with the best blueberry product available. We also source organically certified product to complement our own wild blueberry crop.