Four startups have been named finalists in the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council's 2026 Blueberry Boost Accelerator, a program run in partnership with innovation advisory firm VentureFuel that backs early-stage companies developing blueberry-forward food and beverage products. The cohort — spanning functional pantry goods, better-for-you confectionery, clean-label children's drinks, and craft spirits — reflects how broadly entrepreneurs are repositioning a single agricultural commodity as a platform ingredient for high-growth CPG categories.
The 2026 Cohort
The four selected companies each address a distinct corner of the market. Jam Packd Jams (Edina, Minn.), a 2026 NEXTY Award Finalist at Natural Products Expo West, makes collagen- and prebiotic fiber-fortified spreads with no added sugar, with blueberry as its flagship flavor. Dr. John's Healthy Sweets (Comstock Park, Mich.) — best known as the first brand to produce a sugar-free lollipop — is launching a new fruit-based, tooth-friendly snack line fortified with key nutrients, with blueberry as the debut flavor. Oodles of Doodles (New York, N.Y.) is targeting the children's hydration segment with a clean-label blueberry drink set to launch later this year in ready-to-drink sparkling and still formats, plus hydration sticks and vitamin-fiber juice boxes. Blue Rascal Distillery (Hammonton, N.J.) rounds out the cohort with premium blueberry brandies, liqueurs, and craft spirits rooted in New Jersey's blueberry-growing heritage.
What It Means for Operators
For foodservice and hospitality buyers, the cohort offers an early read on where blueberry-derived products are heading at retail — and, increasingly, onto menus and beverage programs. Functional ingredients with a strong health halo continue to drive food and beverage innovation trends across both on- and off-premise channels. With 93% of consumers already viewing blueberries as a healthy food, according to USHBC's March 2026 Brand Health Tracker, the ingredient carries built-in consumer trust that new product developers can leverage without heavy re-education at the point of sale. At the same time, nearly six in ten consumers say they want more exciting and adventurous blueberry formats, per a Rose Research study — a gap these startups are explicitly designed to close.
Kevin Hamilton, USHBC vice president of global marketing and communications, framed the accelerator's thesis around eating better without trade-offs: "Blueberries have long been recognized for their health and wellness benefits, and this year's cohort demonstrates their incredible versatility as an ingredient that can inspire entirely new products, consumption occasions and markets."
Fred Schonenberg, Founder and CEO of VentureFuel, added that the cohort's breadth is itself the signal: founders across functional foods, family beverages, and premium spirits are all responding to the same underlying consumer shift toward foods that deliver on nutrition, familiarity, and enjoyment simultaneously.
What Comes Next
The accelerator culminates in September with a live pitch competition at The Blueberry Convention, where founders will compete for non-dilutive funding and market-expansion opportunities. Throughout the program, participants work with industry experts on product refinement and commercialization strategy — a structure designed to benefit U.S. blueberry growers by creating new demand channels downstream. Hospitality and foodservice professionals tracking better-for-you beverage and snack development should watch how these emerging brands perform at retail, as category traction often precedes menu adoption in full-service and fast-casual settings.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
