Article updated at 5:00 p.m. on 10/06/2026 with information provided by Fall Creek in its press release
Fall Creek is expanding its reach beyond blueberries and strengthening its presence in Europe with the acquisition of Berryplant and Berrytech, two Trentino-based companies specializing in the breeding and propagation of raspberries and blackberries.
Fall Creek Farm & Nursery Inc., a US-based company among the world leaders in blueberry genetics and nursery production, has announced the acquisition of Berryplant and Berrytech, Italian companies based in Trentino specializing in the genetics and nursery production of raspberries and blackberries.
The transaction marks a strategic step for Fall Creek, strengthening its genetics platform through its entry into Rubus while maintaining its global leadership in blueberries. The aim is to extend the group’s ability to serve growers and operators working across multiple berry categories in a market that is increasingly integrated and quality-oriented.
With this acquisition, Fall Creek aims to broaden its perspective from the concept of “A World with Better Blueberries™” toward a wider vision: “A World with Better Berries”.
from left: Diego Ioriatti (R&D Director and owner of Berryplant and Berrytech), Marc de Beer (CEO of Fall Creek Farm & Nursery), Boris Aust (Executive Advisor), Amelie Aust (Board Director and Shareholder Forum Chairman), Maddalena Grisenti (co-owner of Berryplant)
A step beyond blueberries
Marc de Beer, Chief Executive Officer of Fall Creek, emphasized the strategic value of the transaction and the relationship the company has built with the blueberry industry over almost fifty years.
“For nearly 50 years, Fall Creek has built its business alongside the blueberry industry: shared fields, shared customers, and a shared conviction that better genetics make better growers. Expanding into raspberries and blackberries was never a question of whether, only when,” said de Beer.
According to the CEO, growers and retailers increasingly need a trusted partner across multiple berry categories, not just one. For this reason, Fall Creek has invested over the years in building teams, breeding programs, and commercial infrastructure capable of supporting this evolution.
“Berryplant is an exceptional team, and we are proud to take this step together,” de Beer added.
The value of the Trentino platform
Berryplant is a family-owned company based in Baselga di Piné, Trentino, with more than three decades of experience in the propagation of raspberries and blackberries. Over time, the company has developed specific expertise in nursery production and varietal selection, building solid relationships with growers in various international markets.
The company has a portfolio of commercially established raspberry varieties, including Amalia, Clarita, Optima, Shani, and Eros. In the blackberry segment, its offering includes varieties from the Loch series.
Its sister company Berrytech, founded in 2019, manages the group’s breeding program and intellectual property portfolio. To date, Berrytech holds 10 Plant Breeders’ Rights titles for raspberry and blackberry varieties.
One particularly important aspect is Berryplant’s nursery role: the company is one of only four certified centers in Europe for prebase material for raspberries and blackberries. This is a strategic factor for the quality and health status of propagation material, in a sector where nursery reliability is increasingly decisive in reducing production risks.
A family story that became international genetics
The roots of Berryplant and Berrytech lie in a family and entrepreneurial journey that began in Trentino. The founders, Marilena Grisenti and Ilario Ioriatti, were among the first in Europe to undertake a private breeding program for raspberries and blackberries.
In recent years, Berryplant and Berrytech have expanded their global presence, supplying plants and genetics to customers in several countries. This development has transformed expertise born in a region strongly suited to berries into a varietal and nursery platform recognized internationally.
For Fall Creek, the value of the acquisition lies precisely in this combination: a specialized genetics program, a solid nursery base, technical expertise developed in the field, and relationships built over time with growers.
The vision of Berryplant and Berrytech
Diego Ioriatti, R&D Director and co-owner of Berryplant and Berrytech, highlighted the convergence between the two organizations in terms of genetics, plant quality, and grower relationships.
“We are proud to join Fall Creek, united by a commitment to genetics, plant quality, and grower relationships,” said Ioriatti. “This partnership allows us to bring world-class raspberry and blackberry genetics to more growers, and ultimately to help put better fruit on more tables.”
The integration with Fall Creek therefore offers Berryplant and Berrytech a broader global platform to enhance the work carried out on Rubus, accelerating the spread of their varieties and technical expertise in international markets.
Breeding, nursery production, and technical support
The acquisition strengthens Fall Creek’s ability to operate across three key levers for the future of berries: genetics, nursery quality, and technical support for growers.
This point is particularly relevant at a time when global demand for high-quality berries continues to grow, while pressure is also increasing on productivity, labor, climate adaptability, shelf life, and eating quality.
In this scenario, competitive advantage no longer depends only on the availability of new varieties. What becomes decisive is the ability to support them with a complete platform: genetic selection, agronomic validation, professional propagation, technical assistance, and ongoing relationships with growers.
The addition of Berryplant and Berrytech enables Fall Creek to apply to raspberries and blackberries the model it has built in blueberries: a combination of varietal innovation, plant material quality, and grower service.
Operational continuity for customers and employees
Fall Creek stated that, in the near term, Berryplant and Berrytech will continue operating as usual, ensuring continuity for employees and customers while integration planning progresses.
The new organization will combine complementary expertise in breeding, nursery production, and global market development across different berry categories. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
This continuity is an important element for the market, as it ensures stability in existing commercial and technical relationships, avoiding disruption at a sensitive stage for growers and nursery operators.
A strategy for the whole supply chain
For Fall Creek, varietal improvement is not an isolated objective. In the group’s vision, better varieties and quality plants must create value along the entire chain: from breeders to nurseries, from growers to retailers, and ultimately to the final consumer.
The consumer is the final point of this journey. The goal is to deliver fruit capable of offering a superior experience in terms of flavor, texture, appearance, and reliability. This is where the berry sector will play a decisive part of its future growth.
The integration of Berryplant and Berrytech enables Fall Creek to move closer to this goal in Rubus as well, bringing into the group specialist expertise developed in Italy and recognized internationally.
A signal for the European market
The transaction also has clear European significance. Trentino is one of the symbolic areas of Italian berry production and hosts well-established nursery and production expertise. The entry of a global player such as Fall Creek into this ecosystem confirms the growing interest in the European market and in Italy’s ability to generate varietal and technical innovation.
For growers, the message is clear: the future of berries will be increasingly linked to the availability of solid varietal platforms, professional nursery production, and technical support capable of reducing risks and improving final quality.
The combination of Fall Creek’s global presence and Berryplant and Berrytech’s Trentino-based specialization could also strengthen Europe’s role in the development of new raspberry and blackberry varieties, in a market where fruit quality, production reliability, and adaptation to retail requirements are becoming increasingly central.
Toward “A World with Better Berries”
With this acquisition, Fall Creek is making both a symbolic and strategic move. The group is not abandoning the identity it has built around blueberries, but is extending it to a broader berry concept.
The phrase “A World with Better Berries” summarizes this evolution: not just a portfolio expansion, but a possible transformation of Fall Creek’s global positioning, from blueberry specialist to international platform for innovation in berries.
For Berryplant and Berrytech, the transaction represents an opportunity to bring the work developed in Trentino on raspberries and blackberries to a broader scale. For the market, it is a further signal of the growing integration between genetics, nursery production, technical assistance, and commercial development in the main berry categories.
