Italian household spending on berries grew by 35% in 2025. How much room remains to increase consumption, year-round availability and assortment depth? Berry Trend will address these questions on 25 September.
Berry Trend returns online on Friday, 25 September 2026, at 11:00 a.m. The free webinar is organised by myfruit.it in collaboration with Italian Berry. Its fifth edition asks the industry: “Berries in Italy: what is holding back growth?” Event details and registration are available here.
According to YouGov Shopper – Italian Berry data, Italian household spending on blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and currants rose by 35% compared with 2024, while volumes increased by 41%. Thomas Drahorad of NCX Drahorad and Italian Berry says that, when strawberries are included, berries have reached fourth place by sales value in the fruit department of Italian large-scale retail. A comparison with the United Kingdom will provide one starting point for discussing the Italian market’s potential.
Consumption: how many households buy berries, and how often?
The first question concerns demand. Higher sales do not settle how much further the category can grow: the industry needs to understand how many households buy berries, how frequently they do so and on what occasions. Comparing Italy with a more developed market such as the United Kingdom may help identify differences in shopping habits, without assuming that the two markets will follow the same path.
Strawberries: an offer available throughout the year?
The second topic is continuity on the shelf. According to the analysis presented by Drahorad, approximately two-thirds of Italian strawberry production and sales are concentrated in the southern Italian season, especially in Basilicata and Campania. During that period, the assortment includes more pack sizes and segments; in other months, it may shrink to a single 250 g product listing or disappear from shelves altogether, even though fruit is available during the year.
The webinar will examine the reasons for this uneven availability and the scope for managing the commercial calendar more effectively.
Assortment: beyond pack size
The third question is segmentation. Moving beyond the single 125 g punnet to packs of different weights has expanded the offer, but pack size alone does not meet different purchasing needs. The proposed analysis will consider the role of pack sizes, brands, price points and segments such as premium, organic and zero-residue products.
The discussion will draw on consumption data and the Italian Berry Retail Monitor run by NCX Drahorad, which tracks prices and assortments in Italian retail. According to the organisers, its archive contains more than one million data points. Speakers will include Thomas Drahorad, Annamaria Medici of Multicedi, Carlo Lingua of RK Growers and Berryway, and Christian Nicodemo of Frutthera Growers. Raffaella Quadretti of myfruit.it will moderate.
Registration is free. The event page states that registrants will receive instructions for watching the live webinar and two weeks of free access to the Italian Berry Retail Monitor.
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