Berries on promotion in Milan with fluctuating levels of quality

The survey was conducted on 05/14/2024 in the urban area of Milan (Italy) and covered 20 stores from 19 brands belonging to 16 groups of large-scale retail distribution.

The assortments of the following brands were surveyed: Aldi, Bennet, Carrefour Express, Carrefour Market, Conad, Coop, Esselunga, Eurospin, Il Gigante, iN's, Iperal, Ipercoop, Lidl, MD, Pam, Penny, Sigma, Tigros, U2.

The prices of berries in Milan's large-scale distribution are fluctuating, with significant differences between one supermarket and another. However, they are generally on the decline with many promotions. Blueberries originate from Italy, Spain, and Morocco, with standard quality. For raspberries and blackberries, there is a noticeable quality issue in almost all stores. For strawberries, the offer is limited, with unexceptional quality standards and prices that remain medium-low. There are also numerous stock outages reported: several items are missing from the shelves.

This snapshot was taken by the Berry Retail Monitor on May 14, 2024, in Milan. Twenty stores were involved, belonging to 19 brands, for a total of 16 large-scale distribution groups. Specifically: Aldi, Bennet, Carrefour Express, Carrefour Market, Conad, Coop, Esselunga, Eurospin, Il Gigante, iN’s, Iperal, Ipercoop, Lidl, MD, Pam, Penny, Sigma, Tigros, U2.

Assortment

In the berry category, the stores visited had between one and seven items, with an average of 3.9 items per store.

In the 20 stores visited with a berry assortment: 85% had raspberries; 100% had blueberries; 75% had blackberries; 20% had red currants, and 20% had Tris.

Product Range

10% of the stores had only one item for sale; 45% had two or three items for sale, while the remaining 45% of the stores had four or more items.

Quality

Quality refers to the healthiness of the product, measured in terms of: absence of significant defects; healthy product but in less-than-ideal condition (not fresh, tired, shriveled, dull, without bloom); presence of damaged fruit and juice; presence of rotten fruit and mold.

The groups with the best quality were Bennet, Esselunga, Eurospin, Iperal, Lidl, Selex, Sigma, Unes.

Sales Prices

Raspberries (27 observations): min. 12.72 €/kg – max. 31.60 €/kg – average 19.34 €/kg

Blueberries (40 observations): min. 7.96 €/kg – max. 35.60 €/kg – average 15.26 €/kg

Blackberries (17 observations): min. 11.92 €/kg – max. 31.92 €/kg – average 18.41 €/kg

Red Currants (5 observations): min. 23.92 €/kg – max. 35.84 €/kg – average 31.09 €/kg

Tris (5 observations): min. 14.48 €/kg – max. 26.53 €/kg – average 22.36 €/kg

Overall total (94 observations): min. 7.96 €/kg – max. 35.84 €/kg – average 18.22 €/kg.

Brands

In the stores visited, berries from a total of 30 brands were present. The brand with the highest average prices in the category was Gourmet. The brand with the lowest average prices for blueberries was Family Pack, followed by Arandano De Palos.

Packaging

45% of the observed blueberry items are sold in packages with a net weight of 125 grams.

Brands ordered by average decreasing price (€/kg) of the berry category

Online price lists

Click this link to consult the weekly retail price lists for online sales.

Italian Berry - All rights reserved