Artberry, one of Ukraine’s innovative blueberry growers, has been building its blueberry operation since 2014. Located near Kyiv, the company grows 90 hectares of blueberries and 40 hectares of sweet cherries, with commercial blueberry volumes steadily increasing since 2018.
Supplying customers across Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the European Union, Artberry built its reputation on reliable supply and premium fruit quality. But as blueberry volumes increased, manual sorting could no longer keep up.
The challenge was clear.
Artberry needed to process more fruit, maintain export quality, reduce dependence on manual labor and give customers exactly what they asked for. Whether that meant 12+ mm berries for one market, 14+ mm berries for another, or firmer fruit with no soft or compromised blueberries present.
To gain that control, Artberry invested in an Elifab blueberry grader powered by Ellips True-AI technology. Using high-speed cameras and artificial intelligence, the system evaluates every blueberry for:
- Size and geometry
- Density and external appearance
- Color and ripeness
- Firmness and softness
- Surface defects
This allows Artberry to sort blueberries with high precision while handling the fruit gently enough to preserve firmness and bloom quality.
The results?
✅ Higher grading capacity with throughput up to 1–1.2 tonnes per hour
✅ More consistent quality and defect detection
✅ Less dependence on manual labor
✅ More flexibility across customer requirements
✅ Greater predictability during the season
✅ Gentler handling of premium fruit
✅ More confident export customers
Full detail on each below, under Results
About Artberry
Founded in 2014, Artberry now manages 130 hectares of blueberry fields and sweet cherry orchards near Kyiv. The company grows premium varieties — Duke, Draper, Liberty and Aurora — selected for flavor, size, firmness and harvest timing, delivering a continuous supply from June through September.
Artberry works with premium genetics and planting material from Fall Creek, one of the world's leading blueberry breeding and nursery companies, chosen for strong yields, excellent fruit quality and suitability to local growing conditions.
The company supplies customers across the United Kingdom, the European Union and Ukraine, focusing on reliable partnerships, predictable supply and premium fruit quality.
Growing in one of Europe’s most challenging production environments
Spring frost, winter freeze damage, hail, and labor shortages all threaten production in Ukraine. To manage that risk, Artberry continuously invests in frost-protection systems, cooling capacity, storage expansion, and advanced sorting technology. This commitment to continuous improvement helps position Artberry as a reliable long-term supplier for international customers.
Key challenges driving change
Artberry entered a new phase of growth. Blueberry volumes were rising, customer expectations were increasing and labor availability was becoming more difficult. Manual sorting was no longer a scalable solution.
1. Manual sorting could not keep up with picking pace
During peak periods, Artberry needed to process at least 20 tonnes per day. With clean fruit, manual sorting could keep up, but once 10–15% of berries carried defects, productivity dropped three to four times, as every worker needed more time per kilo to inspect and remove poor fruit. The result was a persistent bottleneck.
2. Labor shortage made automation essential
Labor availability is a major challenge in Ukraine, with many workers fighting in the war or having left the country. Automation lets Artberry process higher volumes with fewer people, reducing operational risk, not just replacing labor.
3. Customers demanded high quality and precise sizing
Requirements vary by market: UK customers may accept 12+ mm berries, while European buyers typically require 14+ mm. Firmness matters just as much, but it's a harder spec to pin down.
4. Weather variation created unpredictable fruit quality
Spring and winter frost, hail, and summer heat all affect crop condition. Heat and late picking soften fruit; hail causes hidden damage. The grader lets Artberry adjust settings by variety, picking round and fruit condition, responding to whatever actually comes in from the field.
5. Lack of predictability created operational risk
Before investing in automated grading, Artberry could not always predict how quickly fruit would move through the packhouse. Manual sorting performance depended heavily on incoming fruit quality. When defect levels increased, processing speed slowed dramatically, creating uncertainty around daily throughput, shipment planning and customer commitments. Significant pressure for an export-focused business during peak harvest.
Choosing the right partner and technology
Switching from manual sorting to automated AI grading was an important step for Artberry. The company needed a solution that could increase throughput, improve sorting accuracy and help maintain reliable export quality under highly variable conditions.
The team carefully evaluated different technologies available on the market. Besides grading accuracy, Artberry also looked at ease of use, machine reliability, gentle fruit handling and the availability of reliable local technical support in Ukraine through regional partner Natalia Zelenska.
After comparing several options, Artberry selected an Elifab blueberry grader powered by Ellips True-AI technology.
What were the main motivations for choosing Ellips-Elifab?
1. Throughput to match growing volumes.
The grader processes 700 kg to 1.2 tonnes per hour depending on berry size and condition, removing the bottleneck manual sorting created whenever defect rates rose.
2. More accurate defect detection with AI technology
The True-AI system evaluates every blueberry individually, catching soft fruit, cracks, scarring and hail damage with a precision manual sorting can't match.
3. Flexibility for different customer programs
Artberry supplies multiple export markets, each with its own specifications for blueberry size and quality. The ability to sort accurately into different categories allows Artberry to maximize value from the harvest while meeting customer expectations more consistently. The software also makes it possible to quickly adapt settings for different varieties and quality conditions throughout the season.
4. Gentle handling to protect premium fruit quality
Maintaining firmness and bloom quality was another important factor in the decision-making process. Blueberries are delicate, and rough handling during grading can damage the fruit or reduce visual quality. Artberry selected the Elifab grader partly because of its gentle product handling. Soft belts, controlled movement and careful blueberry transfer help minimize damage during sorting while preserving firmness and bloom appearance.
5. Reliable local support in Ukraine
For Artberry, reliable technical support was critical. During harvest season, the grading line operates continuously, and any downtime can directly impact shipments and customer commitments. The presence of local support in Ukraine gave the team confidence that assistance would be available whenever needed. This became even more important given the operational challenges caused by the war.
6. A modern and user-friendly grading platform
Besides performance, the team appreciated how intuitive the system was to operate. The software interface is straightforward, easy to understand and simple to adjust for different varieties and quality profiles. Operators quickly adapted to the system and became confident using the grading programs in daily operations. According to Artberry, this ease of use helped speed up implementation and allowed the team to get maximum value from the technology quickly.
Results
With the Elifab grading line powered by Ellips True-AI technology in place, Artberry has significantly improved both operational efficiency and quality consistency. The investment helped the company increase throughput, reduce dependence on manual labor and gain more control over customer-specific quality requirements. Perhaps even more importantly, the grading system brought a new level of predictability to the operation. Even under difficult harvest conditions.
Following are just some of the improvements Artberry achieved:
✅ Increased grading capacity up to 1.2 tonnes per hour
Depending on blueberry size and fruit condition, the Elifab grader now processes between 700 kg and 1.2 tonnes per hour. This allows Artberry to handle peak harvest volumes of up to 20 tonnes per day with greater confidence and stability.
✅ More consistent export quality
The Ellips True-AI system helps detect soft berries, cracks, scarring and other defects with much greater precision than manual sorting. This improves consistency and helps protect quality across export shipments.
✅ Greater flexibility for different customer requirements
Artberry can now accurately sort blueberries into different size categories and quality programs depending on market requirements. Including 12+ mm and 14+ mm specifications for different customers across the UK and Europe.
✅ Reduced dependence on manual labor
Automation significantly reduced the pressure caused by labor shortages in Ukraine. The team can now process higher volumes with fewer people while maintaining reliable packhouse performance.
✅ More predictable daily operations
Before investing in automated grading, daily processing capacity depended heavily on incoming fruit quality. Today, Artberry has far greater confidence in its ability to process harvested fruit on schedule.
✅ Gentle handling that protects premium fruit quality
The Elifab grading system handles blueberries carefully throughout the sorting process, helping preserve firmness, bloom quality and overall fruit appearance.
✅ Improved confidence for export customers
By combining premium growing practices with advanced AI-powered sorting technology, Artberry can consistently deliver the quality standards international customers expect.
Building for the Future
Artberry sees automated grading as core to its long-term strategy. Not just a fix for today's challenges. The company plans further plantings of premium varieties alongside continued investment in infrastructure, cooling and post-harvest technology. As volumes grow, additional grading capacity is likely the next step.
Using data to improve future performance
Artberry is also using data from the Ellips grading software to sharpen decision-making. Creating batches by field to compare quality, defect levels and sorting performance across harvest periods and seasons. Combined with premium Fall Creek genetics and advanced growing practices, this data-driven approach is helping Artberry build a more scalable, predictable and future-ready operation for international markets.
