In Verona, the berry market remains wide and dynamic, especially for blueberries. Blueberries were found in 100% of the assortments surveyed, often from various origins (Spain, Portugal, Poland) and in multiple formats, compensating for the shortage of Italian supply now at the end of its season.
Although the average assortment reaches 3.9 SKUs per store, with 67% of stores offering 4 or more varieties, the category is also driven by raspberries and blackberries, supported respectively by imports and domestic production.
The overall quality was rated good, with prices enabling a satisfactory turnover on the shelf. Well-established brands such as Sant'Orsola and Garden Frutta lead the category alongside many minor labels.
These are the main findings from the Berry Observatory of July 23, 2025, which analyzed 18 stores from 18 banners belonging to 14 different large-scale retail groups in Verona.
The banners surveyed include: A&O, Aldi, Conad, Dpiù, Esselunga, Eurospar, Eurospin, Famila, Galassia, Iper La Grande I, Lidl, Martinelli, MD, Migross, Pam, Prix, Rossetto, Spazio Conad. At the time of the visit, no berries were available at MD.
Assortment
In the stores visited, the berry category featured between 1 and 6 SKUs, with an average of 3.9 per store. Assortment percentages were as follows: raspberries 83%; blueberries 100%; blackberries 72%; red currants 39%; berry mix 33%.
Assortment breadth
11% of stores with berries had only one SKU, 22% had two or three SKUs, while 67% offered four or more SKUs.
Quality
Quality refers to the condition of the product, measured in terms of: absence of significant defects; product in acceptable but suboptimal condition (not fresh, dull, withered, lacking bloom); presence of damaged fruit and juice; presence of spoiled fruit and mold.
The groups with the best quality were Aldi, Esselunga, Gruppo Pam, Martinelli, Rossetto.
Retail prices
Berry prices varied as follows:
Raspberries: average €18.70/kg (min. €11.70/kg – max. €26.00/kg)
Blueberries: average €14.82/kg (min. €8.30/kg – max. €27.84/kg)
Blackberries: average €16.13/kg (min. €7.92/kg – max. €26.32/kg)
Red currants: average €21.42/kg (min. €13.20/kg – max. €35.92/kg)
Berry mix: average €21.97/kg (min. €19.93/kg – max. €25.00/kg)
In total, 89 price observations were recorded, with a general average of €16.96/kg.
Brands
The stores analyzed featured berries from a total of 26 brands. Esselunga Bio was found to have the highest average prices in the category.
The brand with the lowest average blueberry prices was Aldi, followed by Castellino.
Packaging
53% of the blueberry SKUs were sold in 125-gram packs, approximately half the offer.
