New Wrinkle in Berries Rankles Calif. Raisin Growers

There’s a new wrinkle in the fruit business--Craisins, or dried cranberries--and raisin growers don’t like it one morsel.

Raisin growers claim that the plan by Ocean Spray, the Plymouth, Mass.-based cranberry growers cooperative, to introduce Craisins is a blatant attempt to capitalize on their high-profile marketing of California raisins.

“Why do they call it a Craisin if it’s a cranberry?” said Clyde Nef of the California Raisin Advisory Board in Fresno. “The farmers are upset. We’ve spent millions of dollars in changing the image and promoting California raisins.”

The Craisin, a registered trademark, is red, slightly tart and about the same size as a raisin.

The Craisin will be introduced this summer in Ralston Purina Co.’s Muesli cereal, which already contains raisins. Officials at Ocean Spray, including growers from Massachusetts and Wisconsin, said it will be the first time cranberries will be used in breakfast cereals.

They hope that other food companies will use cranberries in granola, cakes, muffins and other foods.

Raisin growers have asked California Atty. Gen. John Van de Kamp to look into what they say is unfair use of the raisin name.

“We don’t feel it’s unfair. We’ve taken out the trademark. It’s been approved,” an Ocean Spray spokesman said.

The growers, who have spent nearly $8 million this year on ads, have promoted their product heavily in recent years. The campaign included the California Raisin Advisory Board advertisements featuring animated raisins dancing to the tune, “I Heard It Through the Grapevine.”

“Everyone’s upset about it,” Ernest Bedrosian, president of the National Raisin Co. in Fowler, Calif., said of the Craisin plan. “Why the hell don’t they call it something else? We made it so popular, they just want to shirttail on our success.”

“I don’t think there’s any confusion here,” he said Monday. “It’s very clear when you say Craisins are dried cranberries you’re not getting a raisin.

Lawlor said Ocean Spray dreamed up the Craisin because it wanted to enter cranberries into the packaged-food ingredients business.

Ocean Spray last year grossed $781 million in sales from cranberry products, compared to $465 million in 1984 and $159 million in 1978. The cooperative has diversified as sales have grown, with juice drinks now representing about 80% of its products.

Some raisin growers are convinced that the Craisin won’t be much competition for the sun-dried raisin. Raisins, they said, are simply sun-dried grapes while Craisins must be infused with sugar to make them palatable.

“It’s just the skin of the cranberry, sugar infused, and it’s very tart,” said Pete Penner, vice chairman of the California Raisin Advisory Board.