Merrill Blueberry Farms

What Merrill Blueberry Farms does

Merrill Blueberry Farms is a fourth-generation, family-owned wild blueberry processor headquartered at 63 Thorsen Road, Hancock, Maine. Founded in 1925 by Albert and Osmon Merrill, the company harvests and freezes wild blueberries native to the Downeast Maine barrens, where the fruit has grown for over 10,000 years. Operations revolve around a single IQF (Individually Quick Frozen) processing facility with annual equipment upgrades; the company employs 11-50 people and has remained privately held under continuous Merrill family ownership, with Todd Merrill handling sales.

The core product portfolio consists of frozen wild blueberries graded A, B, and C under USDA scoring, plus bulk juice stock in 1,150-pound cardboard totes, available in both conventional and organic (MOFGA-certified) varieties. The company pioneered commercial berry freezing in the early 1930s to extend availability beyond the brief harvest season. It maintains a broad food safety and quality certification stack — BRC Global Standard for Food Safety, USDA inspection/grading, GMP, HACCP, Kosher/Pareve, gluten-free, and non-GMO verified — and packages wholesale product in 30-pound corrugated cartons with a food-grade yellow poly liner.

Revenue is generated through two channels. The primary channel is B2B wholesale, with a minimum order of 2,100 pounds, quote-based pricing that fluctuates through the year, and international shipping via 40-foot refrigerated containers (48,000-54,000 pounds each) through ports in Portland (Maine), Halifax, Boston, or New York, serving North American and European customers. A secondary walk-in retail service at the Hancock plant sells 10- and 30-pound boxes (priced $35-$120) to locals and vacationers, accepting cash or checks only. There are no external investors, no funding rounds, no subsidiaries, no patents, and no disclosed partnerships or M&A activity.

Name

Merrill Blueberry Farms

Legal name

Merrill Blueberry Farms, Inc.

Website

https://merrillwildblueberries.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1925

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Merrill Blueberry Farms is a fourth-generation, family-owned wild blueberry processor in Hancock, Maine, founded in 1925. It uses IQF technology to produce USDA-graded, conventional and organic frozen wild blueberries and juice stock for wholesale food manufacturers and walk-in retail customers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wild Blueberry Processing and Frozen Fruit Manufacturing

NAICS

Berry (except Strawberry) Farming (111334), Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Merchant Wholesalers (424480)

SIC

Agricultural Production-Crops (100), Canned, Frozen & Preservd Fruit, Veg & Food Specialties (2030), Wholesale-Groceries & Related Products (5140)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYAFAGACAD

Berry Farming (Strawberries, Blueberries, Raspberries, Blackberries, Cranberries)

Agriculture & Food Production/Crop Farming/Fruit & Tree Nut Orchards (Citrus, Apples, Berries, Almonds, Walnuts)

SECONDARYAFAOAGAD

Berry Sorting & Packing Facilities

Agriculture & Food Production/Post-Harvest Handling & Storage (Grain Elevators, Silos, Cold Storage)/Packhouses & Produce Sorting/Grading Facilities

Keywords

• Wild blueberry processing
• Frozen IQF blueberries
• Wholesale fruit supply
• Maine wild blueberries
• Bulk blueberry ingredients

Headquarters

HQ city

Hancock

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Wholesale Frozen Blueberries: Bulk frozen wild blueberry sales to food manufacturers and commercial buyers. Products include Grade A, B, C and juice stock in 30-pound cartons (conventional and organic). Juice stock available in 1150-pound cardboard totes. Minimum wholesale order quantity is 2100 pounds.
2. Walk-in Retail: Direct retail sales of frozen wild blueberries at the factory location. Available in 10 or 30 pound boxes, both conventional and organic. Accepts cash or checks only.
3. Pioneered Freezing Technology: Founded by Osmon Merrill in the early 1930s when he pioneered the process of freezing berries for year-round availability, enabling the company to serve customers beyond the fleeting harvest season.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Merrill Blueberry Farms grows, harvests, and IQF-freezes wild Maine blueberries and sells them in bulk to commercial buyers (30-lb Grade A/B/C cartons and 1,150-lb juice-stock totes; minimum wholesale order 2,100 lb) and in 10- or 30-lb boxes to walk-in retail customers at its Hancock, Maine plant. It also supplies wholesale customers internationally via 40-foot refrigerated containers from East Coast/Atlantic ports, and offers conventional and MOFGA-certified organic product lines.

Product overview

Merrill Blueberry Farms operates as a family-owned wild blueberry farming and processing company offering a portfolio of frozen blueberry products. The core offering is IQF (Individually Quick-Frozen) wild Maine blueberries, available in conventional and organic varieties. Products span multiple grade categories (Grade A, B, C) and forms including 30-pound cartons for wholesale, 1150-pound juice stock totes, and smaller 10-pound boxes for walk-in retail customers. The company pioneered frozen berry preservation in the 1930s and maintains food safety certifications including BRC Global Standard, USDA inspection, GMP, and HACCP. All organic products are certified by MOFGA.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Grade A IQF Wild Blueberries Premium-grade IQF wild Maine blueberries (USDA Color Score 18-20, Defect Score 36-40; max 6% crushed) recommended for re-pack retail and poly-bag applications; sold in 30-lb cartons to wholesale buyers with a 2,100-lb minimum order.
• Grade B IQF Wild Blueberries Mid-grade IQF wild Maine blueberries (USDA Color Score 16-20, Defect Score 32-40; max 10% crushed) used in dried/infused products, baked goods, jams, pie fillings, yogurt, ice cream, and dairy; sold in 30-lb cartons to wholesale buyers with a 2,100-lb minimum order.
• Grade C IQF Wild Blueberries Standard-grade IQF wild Maine blueberries (USDA Color Score 14-20, Defect Score 28-40; max 20% crushed) for pie fillings, smoothies, syrups, vinegars, powders, beer, mead, wine, tea, and purees; sold in 30-lb cartons to wholesale buyers with a 2,100-lb minimum order.
• Organic IQF Wild Blueberries 100%-organic wild Maine blueberries certified by MOFGA, available unsized in Grade A, B, or C; sold in 10-lb retail boxes and 30-lb wholesale cartons to commercial buyers.
• Wild Blueberry Juice Stock Wild-blueberry juice stock packed in 1,150-lb cardboard totes for use in wines, ciders, syrups, and vinegars; supplied to commercial beverage producers.
• Walk-in Retail Service Factory-direct walk-in retail service at 63 Thorsen Road, Hancock, Maine, selling 10- or 30-lb boxes of conventional or organic IQF wild blueberries (cash or check only) to local residents and vacationers, with a multi-box discount.

Quantifiable outcome

• Grade A, B, C classification system with USDA scoring for consistent quality assurance
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Welch's: A grower-owned fruit company producing frozen fruit ingredients (concentrates, purees, IQF fruit) for food and beverage manufacturers. Comparable business model in supplying bulk fruit ingredients to commercial buyers, though anchored in Concord and Niagara grapes.
• Cascadian Farm: An organic frozen fruit and vegetable brand (owned by General Mills). Comparable in positioning organic frozen berries and fruit ingredients to retail and food service buyers, though broader in scope and operating as a brand rather than a primary grower-processor.
• Ocean Spray Cranberries: A large farmer-owned fruit cooperative with a similar cooperative-grower model and frozen fruit ingredient business. Comparable in serving food and beverage manufacturers with shelf-stable and frozen fruit ingredients, though Ocean Spray is centered on cranberries rather than wild blueberries.
• Driscoll's: A major global berry company with a comparable B2B ingredient and consumer-facing business model, but focused on cultivated strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries. Competes for the same food manufacturer berry-supply wallet, though at much larger scale.
• Hood (HP Hood): A Northeast dairy and frozen fruit/culture producer. Comparable as a buyer and end-user of frozen wild blueberry ingredients in dairy and fruit-cup product lines, and as a regional New England producer with overlapping distribution channels.

Direct peers

• Oxford Frozen Foods: A large Canadian frozen fruit and vegetable processor (acquired by Pita Pit/PIC) that supplies IQF wild blueberries, cranberries, and other frozen fruits to food manufacturers worldwide. Directly comparable as a competitor in the wild and IQF frozen fruit ingredient segment.
• Jasper Wyman & Son (Wyman's): The largest processor of wild Maine blueberries and the closest direct competitor. Like Merrill, Wyman's harvests from the Downeast barrens and supplies IQF frozen wild blueberries to food manufacturers and retail customers globally — directly competing for the same ingredient customers.

Emerging players

• Eden Foods: An organic and natural foods company that sources and distributes specialty organic ingredients, including frozen fruits, through retail and wholesale channels. Comparable organic and clean-label positioning to Merrill's MOFGA-certified organic wild blueberries.
• Woodstock Farms: A frozen organic fruit and vegetable brand that competes in the same organic frozen berry category at retail and food service. Comparable organic, Non-GMO positioning but distributes rather than grows and processes the fruit itself.

Others

• Wild Blueberry Association of North America: The industry body that promotes and markets wild blueberries for the collective of North American wild blueberry growers and processors (including Merrill). Relevant as an industry enabler that drives category-level demand rather than as a direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance7 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Merrill Blueberry Farms