It all began in 1901…
Our founder A.L. Baker used horseback riders, trains and telegraphs to collect vital produce trading information, solving an important industry challenge. And over a century later, our mission remains the same: to use cutting-edge resources to help family-owned growers and national grocers alike make the right business connections and trading decisions at the right time. Blue Book has helped drive the produce industry forward for more than a hundred years. But we’re just getting started.
A few highlights over our last century:
- 1901: Blue Book was established to provide the fruit and vegetable industry with the first specialized credit service – the Blue Book – with trade practice ratings.
- 1905: Trading Membership established as an honor earned by produce businesses who consistently show themselves as the best firms in the industry.
- 1909: Arbitration board established to help firms navigate trade disputes.
- 1964: The Pay Rating was established to evaluate companies’ payment practices.
- 1973: Transportation Membership established as an honor earned by transportation firms who consistently show themselves as the best firms in the industry.
- 1992: Know Your Commodity® was first released to provide best in class overviews of all major specialty produce commodities.
- 1994: Blue Book goes electronic! Introducing the Blue Book on CD-ROM.
- 1996: Blue Book leads the industry into the digital age by launching producebluebook.com
- 1999: Business Reports are established and launched to provide customers deep dive analyses of subject companies.
- 2002: Blueprints is launched to provide deep industry analysis to customers on core topics.
- 2005: Blue Book creates a predictive credit score highlighting the likelihood that a firm experiences a negative credit event within the next 12 months.
- 2018: The Produce Reporter ® is launched! Providing the industry with a twice-daily news source for all the latest, breaking industry news.
- 2024: Courtesy Contacts are established as a way to “nudge” slow paying customers to remit on past due accounts without opening an official claim.
