Today, 10 June, the Florence Berry Observatory concluded its latest survey. The situation for blueberries appears rather complex due to the seasonal transition between Spain, Morocco and Italy. Spanish and Moroccan produce is still of good quality in some cases, but highly problematic in others, while Italian blueberries are gradually entering the market, albeit with difficulty: Made in Italy produce is still often unavailable, and preference is being given to Spanish fruit despite the issues affecting it, mainly because of prices.
Raspberries and blackberries are unstable in terms of both prices and quality standards. Overall, very little produce is available on shelves in Florence: many displays are poorly stocked or even completely empty.
The number of brands is limited, with a few well-established names. Local blueberry brands have a good presence, while at Conad it is interesting to see how Tuscan produce is gradually gaining ground.
The Observatory visited 13 stores operated under 13 retail banners belonging to nine grocery retail groups. The ranges available at stores belonging to the following banners were surveyed: Carrefour Express, Conad City, Conad Superstore, Coop, Dpiù, Esselunga, Eurospin, IN's, Ipercoop, Lidl, Pam, Pam Local and Penny.
Assortment and range breadth
Within the berry category, the stores visited offered between one and eight SKUs, with an average of 4.3 SKUs per store. More specifically, blueberries were available in 100% of stores, followed by raspberries in 77% of cases, blackberries in 62%, redcurrants in 31%, duo packs in 15% and mixed packs in 8% of stores.
Eight percent of stores offering berries had only one SKU available. A further 31% offered two or three SKUs, while the remaining 62% displayed four or more SKUs.
Quality
Quality refers to the overall condition of the produce and was assessed according to the following criteria: absence of significant defects; sound produce in less-than-ideal condition, such as fruit that was no longer fresh, tired, shrivelled, dull or lacking its natural bloom; presence of damaged fruit and juice leakage; and presence of spoiled or mouldy fruit.
The retail groups recording the best quality were Carrefour, Eurospin and Lidl.
Retail prices
Raspberries (14 observations): minimum €13.92/kg, maximum €26.24/kg, average €18.49/kg.
Blueberries (35 observations): minimum €7.36/kg, maximum €26.24/kg, average €15.18/kg.
Blackberries (9 observations): minimum €14.95/kg, maximum €21.44/kg, average €17.94/kg.
Redcurrants (6 observations): minimum €19.84/kg, maximum €31.84/kg, average €29.84/kg.
Trio packs (4 observations): minimum €17.45/kg, maximum €26.60/kg, average €23.61/kg.
Overall total (68 observations): minimum €7.36/kg, maximum €31.84/kg, average €18.02/kg.
Brands
The stores visited offered berries from a total of 23 berry brands. Amor recorded the highest average prices in the category. Southern Sun had the lowest average blueberry prices, followed by SanLucar.
Packaging
Thirty-four percent of the blueberry SKUs surveyed were sold in packs with a net weight of 125 grams.
