Following the Berry Observatory survey in Brescia, one thing is clear: compared with previous weeks, the situation does not appear to have changed much. There is still a severe shortage of products on shelves, and as a result, the space allocated to the category has also been reduced.
The offering appears highly fragmented, with numerous brands and different origins on the same shelf. This assortment creates some confusion and presents a rather inconsistent picture in terms of quality.
High prices are also slowing stock turnover. As a result, some batches are less fresh, and quality issues are evident, particularly with blackberries and raspberries.
Polish blueberries continue to have a significant presence, but the range of origins is now very diverse: availability is limited, and sourcing appears to be driven primarily by opportunity, with products purchased wherever they are available.
These are the findings of the Berry Observatory survey conducted today, September 30, 2026, in the urban area of Brescia. Specifically, the Berry Observatory visited 17 stores representing 17 retail banners belonging to 15 grocery retail groups: Aldi, Conad, Conad Superstore, Coop, Esselunga, Eurospin, Famila Superstore, In's, Iper Tosano, Ipercoop, Italmark, Lidl, MD, Migross, Penny, Prix and Rossetto.
Assortment
The berry category in the stores visited featured between one and six product lines, with an average of 3.8 product lines per store.
82% of stores stock raspberries; 94% stock blueberries; 47% stock blackberries; 29% stock redcurrants; and 41% stock three-berry mixes.
Range breadth
Of the 17 stores visited, 18% offer just one product line, 29% offer two or three product lines, while the remaining 53% offer four or more product lines.
Quality
Quality refers to the condition of the fruit, assessed in terms of: absence of significant defects; sound fruit in less-than-ideal condition (lacking freshness, tired, shrivelled, dull or without its natural bloom); presence of damaged fruit and juice; presence of spoiled fruit and mould.
The groups with the best quality were Aldi, Conad, Eurospin, Italmark, Lidl, Migross, Prix, Rossetto, Selex and Supermercati Tosano.
Retail prices
Raspberries (18 observations): min. €15.84/kg – max. €30.32/kg – average €22.67/kg
Blueberries (36 observations): min. €11.60/kg – max. €23.92/kg – average €18.35/kg
Blackberries (11 observations): min. €18.24/kg – max. €31.92/kg – average €24.27/kg
Redcurrants (5 observations): min. €11.92/kg – max. €19.84/kg – average €15.10/kg
Three-berry mixes (7 observations): min. €24.60/kg – max. €33.27/kg – average €26.55/kg
Overall total (77 observations): min. €11.60/kg – max. €33.27/kg – average €20.74/kg.
Brands
A total of 25 berry brands were present in the stores visited. The brand with the highest average prices in the category was F.lli Orsero. The brand with the lowest average blueberry prices was Bluey, followed by Camposol.
Packaging
36% of the blueberry product lines recorded are sold in packs with a net weight of 125 grams.
Italian Berry - All rights reserved
