Melinda’s Blueberry Blog

Each week, I go to my local Whole Foods Market to buy healthy fruits and vegetables for my family.  On one particular Saturday right after Amazon purchased Whole Foods, I decided to venture in and take a look to see what was different. Upon my arrival, I glanced around and everything still looked the same. I noticed a wider variety of additional products and different growers that I was not familiar with. On this particular Saturday they were promoting a special from one of their new blueberry suppliers. The price was fantastic! Who could turn down $7.00 for two large boxes of fresh farm picked blueberries. Especially since my favorite blueberries ran about $4.99 for the same size package. The new boxes of blueberries looked exactly the same as my usual brand. Keep in mind, I have been purchasing the same grower’s blueberries nearly every week for the past 20 years. I was feeling adventurous and the sale of the Whole Foods stores made me think that Amazon would be just as discriminating in what product they allowed to be sold in their store. I was so excited about the great buy I quickly snatched up the two boxes and couldn’t wait to get to home to enjoy them. As I arrived home, the blueberries were the first thing I unpacked, I couldn’t get them washed fast enough. At last… I picked up a huge handful of unusually soft blueberries. As I put nearly the whole handful in my mouth, I immediately had two things cross my mind. First being, what the heck did I put in my mouth? And second, what happened to my usual crisp, crunchy, sweet, juicy blueberries from Driscoll that I had grown accustomed to? I realized, in that moment, I couldn’t imagine blueberries tasting any different than what I was used to. Then the questions started. How could something look exactly the same on the surface but taste so different?  After spitting out the half-eaten blueberries a wave of disappointment washed over me, followed by a “blueberry depression”. I was disappointed that I had spent more than I had originally intended to for what seemed like a great deal, but now I was stuck with 2 huge boxes of mushy, inferior blueberries. This gave me an idea. Since I don’t like wasting food, I decide to take them to work for my coworkers.  I thought that if they tried them and liked them I was being a “brand snob”. So the next morning, I served a large bowl of fresh blueberries at the morning staff meeting.  I must say, I watched that bowl of blueberries as each staff member dug in. As each one took a spoonful to enjoy… I studied their expressions and one by one, each person reacted just as I had. “What the heck is this?”, they asked. “Where did you get these?” “Well,”, I began, “these are blueberries from a new grower being sold at Whole Foods.”  “Is there a problem” I questioned. “They are mushy and have no taste. Quite frankly, they are terrible.” One commented. “But they were on special”, I countered, “Two huge boxes for only $7.00.” This was a light bulb moment for me, I realized that this experience with blueberries is no different than choosing a remodeling contractor. Many remodeling contractors look and sound the same, and sometimes the only thing that sets them apart from their competitor is their packaging.  Some contractors package the deal to be so good you would be a fool not to buy it. Thinking you are in on a special, you quickly sign the contract and then realize just how different they really are. How does Euro Design Build separate themselves from the rest if we all look the same on the surface? Well it’s time for you, the reader to share your “blueberry” moment with us. For those of you who know the difference between Euro Design Build and the rest of the remodeling companies we would love to hear your experience, both positive and negative. We want to know how your last remodeling project went. What would you say to your friends and family is the real difference between Euro Design Build and the the other contractors you have done business with? Please send your stories, perhaps we will use them in our upcoming blog.