Sep 3, 2025

AC Foods’ sustainable organic betterful Blues

The mission of AC Foods is to expand access to healthy food through better farming, with a focus on regenerative agriculture, responsible land stewardship and supporting local communities where it grows and operates.

“We are a vertically integrated producer that operates nurseries, farms, packing facilities, and sales and marketing, including more than 20,000 acres across California, Oregon and Australia,” said Mel Sharp, blueberry sales manager. “We have been growing and packing blueberries since 2014 but previously never had our own brand.”

That changed with the introduction of betterful in 2024.

“As we look at the strategy of other brands in our portfolio like Sumo Citrus, we wanted to figure out a way to disrupt this commodity category and really bring some excitement to the blueberry aisle,” Sharp said. “We also knew we had a story to tell, rooted in regenerative farming, so that was really the start of wanting to create, test and launch our own blueberry brand. With betterful, we work to enhance every stage of the growing, harvesting and delivery process to provide berries that are tastier, fresher and healthier for our planet.”

One of the biggest pain points from consumers within the blueberry category is quality, so the company was looking to deliver a fresher berry to the market.

“We are the grower and the packer and also the sales and the marketing behind betterful, so with this element of vertical integration, we are able to deliver blueberries to the market much faster than anybody else,” Sharp said. “We grow blueberries within a certain radius of our packinghouses and are able to get those from the field to the packinghouses efficiently — ultimately, delivering a fresher blueberry to our retail partners and their shoppers.”

Regenerative Organic Certified

In 2024, after a rigorous certification process, betterful’s Oregon farms officially became Regenerative Organic Certified (ROC), a certification that meets the highest standards in the world for soil health, animal welfare and farmworker fairness. To date, there are nearly 400 certified farms and ranches across the U.S., and betterful was among the first blueberries to be ROC.

“We evaluated multiple regenerative certifications, and ROC was most aligned to our definition of regenerative agriculture,” said Kristin Jacobs, sustainability manager for AC Foods. “ROC is a certification recognized by retailers as well as something consumers are beginning to seek and demand as they look for transparency in regard to farming practices. We want to be at the forefront in providing high-quality blueberries grown in ways that are healthier for our planet.”

The farms utilize cover crops, compost, mulching and weed matting to protect from soil erosion, feed soil microbes and build soil health.

“We carefully manage our pollinator habitats by removing weeds so the beneficial native plants can thrive and monitor beneficial insects to maintain natural pollinator populations,” Jacobs said. “These practices have resulted in 25% average increase in our soil organic matter since 2016.”

Additionally, betterful’s regenerative practices create habitats for insects and many bird species. These efforts have resulted in 170 acres of year-round habitat planted and maintained for beneficial insects and wild pollinators, as well as a 267% average increase of wild pollinators on the farms.

“Providing an environment for these birds, we can naturally manage pests that may otherwise invade the crops, giving us the opportunity to provide consumers with healthier, more sustainably grown blueberries,” Jacobs said.

Consumer awareness and demand in the organic space continues to grow for many commodities. Berries often take a starring role on the short list due to the known health benefits and high snackability of berries. “Consumers continue to advance their understanding that organic practices produce not only a healthier product but also have other implications in soil, pollinator and ecosystem health,” Sharp said.

Sustainable philosophy

Currently, betterful’s blueberries are primarily grown between Fresno and Bakersfield as well as the Delta region, with the company’s California farms located in Fowler, Sanger, Richgrove, Delano and near Stockton. Its Oregon farms are in Sublimity and Independence.

“We understand that many of our resources are finite,” Jacobs said. “We want to do our part to ensure we can continue farming and growing for years to come. To us, sustainability focuses on maintaining our resources and ensuring we are leaving things the way we found them, while regenerative takes it one step further to prolong those things even better about making it better or higher level than it was before. It is essential that we not only work to sustain and protect the land and farms that we have today but also find ways to rebuild and regenerate these resources for the future.”

AC Foods demonstrates this commitment in its orchards and in the local communities where it operates.

“We work to provide jobs with fair wages and ensure workplace quality,” Jacobs said. “Throughout both California and Oregon, we are also involved in local research and educational groups, and are constantly working with local growers and industry professionals to ensure we are imparting the right practices for our farms. We are focused on doing the right things for the right reasons, and we know that the more we work together to share ideas and practices, the more we will continue to learn and grow together.”

— A graduate of the University of Miami, Keith Loria is an award-winning journalist who has been writing for almost 20 years.