The pricing situation in Brescia is very interesting in week 49/2024, with promotions on both raspberries and blueberries in most points of sale. The quality standards are satisfactory, and shelf rotation is good.
On the other hand, blackberries and red currants have relatively high prices due to a general scarcity of product availability.
As for brands, there are many, but the two dominant ones remain Garden Frutta and Sant'Orsola. Shelves are well-stocked, and there is a substantial presence of blueberries, including larger formats up to 500 grams, which are also frequently on promotion.
Observations from the Berry Retail Monitor
These are the summarized findings of the Small Fruit Observatory as of December 3, 2024, focusing on the urban area of Brescia. Specifically, the Small Fruit Observatory in Brescia visited 19 points of sale from 19 different banners belonging to 16 organized large-scale retail groups (GDO): Aldi, Carrefour Market, Conad, Conad Superstore, Coop, Dpiù, Esselunga, Eurospin, Famila Superstore, In's, Ipercoop, Italmark, Lidl, MD, Migross, Penny, Prix, Rossetto, Sigma.
Assortment: 3.7 SKUs per Point of Sale
In the small fruit category, the visited points of sale offered a range of one to seven SKUs, with an average of 3.7 SKUs per store.
- 79% of the stores had raspberries in their assortment.
- 100% had blueberries.
- 47% had blackberries.
- 42% had red currants.
- 21% had "Tris" (a mixed pack of fruits).
Range of Assortment
- 11% of the stores with small fruits in their assortment offered only one SKU.
- 42% offered two or three SKUs.
- The remaining 47% had four or more SKUs.
Quality
Quality is assessed based on the healthiness of the product, measured by:
- Absence of significant defects.
- Product that is sound but not in ideal condition (not fresh, limp, shriveled, dull, or without bloom).
- Presence of damaged fruit and juice.
- Presence of spoiled fruit and mold.
The groups with the best quality were Aldi, Conad, Lidl, MD, Rewe, and Sigma.
Retail Prices
| Retailer | Two-pack | Raspberries | Blueberries | Mix | Blackberries | Red currants | Three-pack | Total |
| Ipercoop | 20,72 | 18,36 | 31,92 | 23,67 | ||||
| Carrefour Market | 19,92 | 18,32 | 26,80 | 27,84 | 23,22 | |||
| Sigma | 23,12 | 23,12 | ||||||
| Conad Superstore | 23,60 | 22,24 | 16,28 | 23,84 | 23,84 | 21,96 | ||
| Italmark | 19,95 | 15,92 | 12,87 | 26,60 | 23,92 | 23,92 | 26,60 | 21,40 |
| Prix | 21,27 | 21,27 | ||||||
| Esselunga | 20,52 | 17,03 | 23,84 | 18,24 | 23,20 | 20,57 | ||
| Migross | 14,95 | 19,92 | 15,94 | 27,92 | 23,92 | 20,53 | ||
| Eurospin | 15,92 | 13,95 | 23,92 | 27,92 | 20,43 | |||
| Coop | 20,72 | 19,92 | 20,32 | |||||
| Famila Superstore | 14,00 | 14,00 | 23,84 | 23,84 | 19,87 | 19,11 | ||
| Rossetto | 15,84 | 12,55 | 23,84 | 23,84 | 19,02 | |||
| Conad | 15,92 | 15,92 | ||||||
| MD | 14,32 | 13,14 | 19,93 | 15,80 | ||||
| Aldi | 15,44 | 15,44 | ||||||
| Penny | 15,92 | 13,94 | 14,93 | |||||
| In's | 15,92 | 12,72 | 14,32 | |||||
| Dpiù | 14,32 | 14,32 | 14,32 | |||||
| Lidl | 13,17 | 13,17 |
- Raspberries (18 observations): min. €14.00/kg – max. €26.00/kg – avg. €17.47/kg
- Blueberries (38 observations): min. €9.98/kg – max. €23.92/kg – avg. €15.72/kg
- Blackberries (11 observations): min. €23.84/kg – max. €31.92/kg – avg. €25.51/kg
- Red Currants (10 observations): min. €18.24/kg – max. €27.92/kg – avg. €24.10/kg
- Tris (4 observations): min. €19.87/kg – max. €26.60/kg – avg. €22.40/kg
Overall total (81 observations): min. €9.98/kg – max. €31.92/kg – avg. €18.80/kg.
Brands
Across the points of sale, small fruits from a total of 28 brands were present. The brand with the highest average prices in the category was Natura Matura. The brand with the lowest average prices for blueberries was Camposol, followed by Southern Sun.
Packaging
58% of the observed blueberry SKUs were sold in packages with a net weight of 125 grams.
