Blueberry prices are tending to decrease, possibly due to the introduction of new promotional formats: 250 and 500 grams. Raspberry prices are also starting to drop, whereas blackberry prices remain high.
The quality standards are good for blueberries but less so for blackberries and raspberries, mainly due to low turnover in retail stores, with older batches (generally processed the previous week).
This snapshot was taken by the Berry Retail Monitor on November 26, 2024, in the urban area of Bologna. The survey included 20 retail stores belonging to 20 chains under 12 major retail groups.
Retail Chains Surveyed
The following retail chains were included in the survey: Aldi, Alì, Carrefour, Carrefour Express, Carrefour Market, Conad City, Conad Superstore, Coop, Despar, Dpiù, Esselunga, Eurospar, Eurospin, IN's, inCOOP, Ipercoop, Lidl, PAM, PAM Local, and Sigma.
Assortment and Product Range
In the 20 stores visited, the number of berry references varied from a minimum of 1 to a maximum of 6, with an average of 3.4 references per store.
Specifically:
- 80% of stores carried raspberries.
- 95% had blueberries.
- 45% offered blackberries.
- 35% carried red currants.
- 25% had mixed berry trays.
Additional findings:
- 15% of stores visited offered only one reference.
- 40% had 2–3 references.
- The remaining 45% had 4 or more references.
Quality
Quality refers to the healthiness of the product, measured by:
- Absence of significant defects.
- Healthy product but not in ideal condition (not fresh, limp, shriveled, dull, lacking bloom).
- Presence of damaged fruits and juice leakage.
- Presence of spoiled fruits and mold.
The retail groups with the highest quality standards were Aldi, Despar Italia, Lidl, and Selex.
Selling Prices
| Retailer | Two-pack | Raspberries | Blueberries | Blackberries | Red currants | Three-pack | Total |
| Carrefour Express | 30,00 | 25,20 | 28,40 | 27,87 | |||
| Carrefour | 27,40 | 27,04 | 24,52 | 25,44 | 27,84 | 29,87 | 27,02 |
| Carrefour Market | 27,04 | 26,80 | 26,92 | ||||
| inCOOP | 22,24 | 27,84 | 25,04 | ||||
| Conad City | 24,64 | 24,64 | |||||
| Conad Superstore | 23,04 | 21,04 | 27,84 | 23,84 | 25,87 | 24,33 | |
| Ipercoop | 20,64 | 20,26 | 27,04 | 28,64 | 24,15 | ||
| PAM | 22,45 | 18,32 | 26,32 | 30,32 | 22,32 | 23,95 | |
| Sigma | 23,60 | 23,60 | |||||
| Alì | 28,00 | 17,29 | 23,92 | 23,07 | |||
| PAM Local | 17,50 | 20,00 | 17,98 | 32,00 | 21,87 | ||
| Eurospin | 23,92 | 12,95 | 23,92 | 23,92 | 19,93 | 20,93 | |
| Esselunga | 17,04 | 19,69 | 23,84 | 18,24 | 23,20 | 20,40 | |
| Despar | 18,32 | 11,92 | 23,27 | 17,84 | |||
| Eurospar | 18,32 | 15,96 | 17,14 | ||||
| IN's | 15,92 | 13,52 | 14,72 | ||||
| COOP | 17,60 | 10,95 | 14,28 | ||||
| Dpiù | 14,00 | 14,00 | |||||
| Lidl | 13,97 | 13,97 | |||||
| Aldi | 13,62 | 13,62 |
Raspberries (20 observations)
- Minimum: €15.84/kg
- Maximum: €30.00/kg
- Average: €21.28/kg
Blueberries (30 observations)
- Minimum: €9.98/kg
- Maximum: €31.92/kg
- Average: €18.15/kg
Blackberries (12 observations)
- Minimum: €23.84/kg
- Maximum: €32.00/kg
- Average: €27.13/kg
Red Currants (7 observations)
- Minimum: €18.24/kg
- Maximum: €28.64/kg
- Average: €24.66/kg
Mixed Berries (5 observations)
- Minimum: €19.93/kg
- Maximum: €29.87/kg
- Average: €24.43/kg
Overall Summary (74 observations):
- Minimum: €9.98/kg
- Maximum: €32.00/kg
- Average: €21.49/kg
Brands
In the 20 stores visited, berries from a total of 24 brands were present.
- The brand with the highest average prices in the category was Almaverde Bio.
- The brand with the lowest average prices for blueberries was Moderna, followed by Lovita.
Packaging
Half (50%) of the blueberry references observed were sold in packages with a net weight of 125 grams.
Online retail prices
Click here to access the weekly updated online price lists for berries.
