Wyman’s is launching three new frozen products in the United States this fall, as the family-owned company celebrates its 150th year in business. Fruit First Waffles, Protein Blends for smoothies, and snackable Fruit & Peanut Butter Poppers are now debuting in freezer aisles at stores nationwide.
“We’re passionate about helping people live healthier lives,” said Tony Shurman, president and chief executive officer. “Creating exceptional new products that make it easy for people to incorporate fruit into their diets is a big part of that effort.”
This is Wyman’s fourth new product launch in four years. It continues a legacy of innovation that has been ongoing since 1874, and been a key part of the Milbridge, Maine-based company’s rise in becoming the USA’s largest retail brand of frozen fruit, according to Nielsen sales data.
Jasper Wyman started the business as a seafood cannery and began incorporating wild blueberries into his offerings at the turn of the last century. After Clarence Birdseye pioneered industrial food freezing in 1925, the company expanded into selling frozen wild blueberries. In the 1980s, it added mixed frozen fruit into the product lineup, featuring ingredients such as strawberries, cherries and bananas. In 2019, it innovated yet again, expanding beyond bags of frozen fruit with Just Fruit & Greek Yogurt Bites ready-to-eat frozen snacks, which now come in five flavor varieties. The company currently offers 27 fruit-based products, including powders, juice, and whole dried berries.
“From the beginning, innovation has been a core part of our identity, and this current slate of new products continue that legacy,” said Shurman. “As we celebrate 150 years and look toward the future, developing new ways to enjoy nutritious fruit is a key part of our strategy to flourish – not just as a family-owned business, but as an industry that has shaped the culture in Downeast Maine and fueled the economy for generations.”
Another leg of that effort involves supporting research to determine how to increase fruit consumption. Toward that end, Wyman’s is funding a study at the University of Maine, testing different strategies to boost fruit consumption among middle school students between 9 and 13 years old, a stage in life when fruit consumption tends to fall. The goal is to develop effective strategies that can be eventually rolled out nationwide.
Wyman’s ranks among the world’s leading growers and processors of wild blueberries. The company owns 55,000 acres of land throughout Maine and Canada and works with partner farmers around the world. It provides 300 year-round jobs, plus hundreds of seasonal jobs at harvest time.
Wild blueberries, Vaccinium angustifolium, are Maine’s official state fruit. The low-bush berries took root in the region after the glaciers receded 10,000 years ago. Maine is the only state in America where wild blueberries are commercially grown in abundance.
