Berries in Italy: between untapped potential and the challenges facing large-scale retail

Annamaria Medici’s (Multicedi) analysis at the Berry Trend 2026 webinar, compared with data from the Italian Berry Observatory

Italy’s berries and strawberries market faces a paradox. While industry headlines celebrate sustained double-digit growth, a comparison with more mature international markets points to untapped potential estimated at around €1 billion in annual spending left unrealised.

At the fifth edition of the Berry Trend 2026 webinar, organised by Italian Berry and myfruit, Thomas Drahorad presented data illustrating this gap. Annamaria Medici, Head of Fruit and Vegetable Purchasing and Training at Multicedi, discussed the findings from the perspective of Italian grocery retailers, offering a practical view of purchasing patterns, assortment limits and the strategies needed to accelerate category growth.

The Market and Consumption: Health Appeal and the Gap with Other Countries

The data presented by Thomas Drahorad show strong growth, led chiefly by blueberries. In Italy, blueberry sales rose from €95 million in 2021 to €243 million in 2025 (+156%). Despite this growth, the comparison with the United Kingdom — where the blueberry market is worth €809 million — suggests that Italian consumption could theoretically exceed that of traditional categories such as bananas. Similar gaps can be seen for raspberries (€43 million in Italy versus €532 million in the United Kingdom) and blackberries.

Commenting on these figures, Annamaria Medici confirmed that demand among Italian grocery retailers is steadily increasing. She described blueberries as the category’s “flagship product”, followed by strawberries, raspberries and redcurrants. Blueberry growth has been driven above all by its association with nutrition and health, together with its versatility.

Medici highlighted three points:

• The influence of trends and social media: Italian consumers are strongly influenced by viral trends. One example she cited was the temporary surge in sales volumes associated with the “Franuì” social media trend.
• Promotional habits within grocery retail: Within Multicedi’s organisation, which includes many affiliated entrepreneurs, a degree of cultural resistance remains. When planning promotional leaflets, operators still ask for “ten times as many bananas as blueberries”, without fully recognising how health-conscious customers have become.
• Creating reasons to buy (the UK model): Unlike the Italian approach, the British model goes beyond seeking an individual sale. It creates distinct shopping occasions and experiences, communicates product segments on packaging and provides dedicated display space.

Focus on Strawberries: Extending Value Beyond the Season, Not Just Availability

An analysis of the strawberry market shows that supply is highly concentrated: 70% of Italian production falls between February and May. In spring, grocery shelves carry a range of segments and pack sizes. In summer and autumn, the assortment often narrows to a single standard 250 g product.

With Multicedi operating in Campania and southern Italy — areas with a strong tradition of strawberry growing — Annamaria Medici explained the practical reasons for this discontinuity:

1. Local identity and origin: In southern Italy, consumers place considerable importance on seasonality and local origin.
2. The limits of the 250 g pack outside the main season: Reliance on 250 g punnets outside the peak period is not necessarily the best strategic choice. It reflects quality constraints (out-of-season fruit has a shorter shelf life) and sensitivity to the final retail price.
3. Availability versus volume: Although production across Italy’s growing regions can now cover almost 12 months of the year, volumes outside the peak season are still insufficient to support a consistent, structured assortment.

Medici drew an important distinction: the aim is not to make strawberries available year-round at any cost, but to “extend value beyond the season”. The strategy is to show consumers that strawberries can retain distinctive quality and value — through premium or organic ranges, for example — outside the traditional February-to-May window.

Segmentation and Retailer Requirements: Consistent Quality and Brands

While overseas retailers such as Tesco carry more than 21 berry products across standard, premium, value, organic and snack-pot segments, Italian grocery retailers carry an average of 8–9 products.

Discussing this gap and the points raised by growers, including Carlo Lingua of Berryway and Cristian Nicodemo of Fruttera Growers, Annamaria Medici set out the essential requirements suppliers must meet if retailers are to offer broader assortments:

• Consistent quality: This is the fundamental requirement. Blueberry and berry shoppers look for specific eating qualities: crunch, size and sweetness. Variations in quality or unsuitable batches can quickly drive customers away from the category.
• Managing the price per pack: Italian shoppers are sensitive to price in a different way from UK shoppers. Italian retailers use the smaller 125 g format to keep the price of an individual pack within reach.
• The value of brands and varieties (the Candonga and Matera examples): Medici pointed to the effectiveness of branding and varietal identity. In Campania, the Candonga strawberry became so familiar that consumers asked for Candonga rather than strawberries. The Fragola Matera project offers another example of how a clear identity can reassure shoppers about the value they are buying.

Conclusions and Outlook for the Supply Chain

Annamaria Medici’s analysis offers a clear message for the berries supply chain: category growth can no longer depend solely on spontaneous increases in consumption. Unlocking the remaining sales potential calls for cooperation across the supply chain built on three priorities:

1. Continuity of supply and consistent quality from growers, including size, crunch and shelf life.
2. Communicating value and building brands to help shoppers look beyond price and seasonality alone.
3. A shift in thinking within grocery retail, updating established promotional practices and giving berries the shelf space and assortment depth that changing lifestyles call for.