Blueberries, already lauded for health benefits, have a new honor: Their own emoji.

The Unicode Consortium, a nonprofit group that aims to set standards for digital communication, has approved the addition of the blueberries emoji for release in March, when it will join other fruit emojis such as the apple, pear, peach and cherries on a smart phone near you.

The pear was added in 2016 at the urging of the Pear Bureau Northwest, which represents Washington and Oregon pear growers under a federal marketing order.

In March, blueberries will join apples, pears, cherries and peaches among the ranks of fruit with their own smart phone emojis. (Courtesy U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council)
In March, blueberries will join apples, pears, cherries and peaches among the ranks of fruit with their own smart phone emojis. (Courtesy U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council)

The blueberry emoji was just good luck, said Katie Brady, a publicist for the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council. Two unrelated authors proposed the emoji to Unicode and backed it up with information from the council’s  website and social media postings.

The council is trying to capitalize on the emoji announcement and other serendipitous “blue” news by dubbing 2020 as the Year of the Blueberry. New Jersey company Pantone, known for its color matching system, decreed Classic Blue as its Color of the Year and Swiss perfume and taste company Firmenich announced Classic Blueberry as the 2020 Flavor of the Year.