Karima® wins Gold at the Excellent Taste Awards 2026. The strawberry variety developed by Mattivi Breeding and marketed by The Summer Berry Company has received an international award recognizing sensory quality, taste and overall eating enjoyment.
For Italian berry breeding, this is a significant result: not only because it highlights the genetic work carried out by Mattivi Group, but also because it confirms how taste is once again becoming one of the central elements in varietal competition. In the case of Karima®, the judges particularly highlighted its juiciness, freshness and excellent aromatic profile, three attributes that today have a direct impact on consumer perception and on a strawberry’s ability to stand out in the premium segment.
An award that enhances Italian breeding
Karima® originates from the breeding program of Mattivi Breeding, an Italian company specializing in the development of new berry varieties. Mattivi Group presents itself as an independent breeding program created to develop new berry varieties, with the aim of meeting the needs of the different links in the supply chain: nurseries, growers, retailers and end consumers.
The same approach also emerges from the group’s company profile, which indicates the development of varieties suitable for different climatic areas and production systems as one of its objectives, with research and trial sites in areas such as Baselga di Pinè, Verona, Mexico and Morocco. In this context, the recognition obtained by Karima® takes on a value that goes beyond the individual award: it becomes confirmation of Italian breeding’s ability to produce genetics that are competitive on an international scale.
Luciano Mattivi: “Confirmation of the work carried out on taste”
According to Luciano Mattivi, Co-Founder of Mattivi Group, the Gold Award obtained by Karima® represents important confirmation of the direction taken by the breeding program: developing varieties capable of offering a superior eating experience, without losing sight of the agronomic and commercial needs of the supply chain.
“This award makes us particularly proud because it recognizes the work carried out over the years on strawberry breeding, with constant attention to sensory quality,” says Luciano Mattivi. “Karima® was selected to offer consumers a pleasant, fresh, juicy and aromatic strawberry, but also to give growers a variety capable of standing out on the market.”
For Mattivi, the key point is the link between genetics, production and market. A premium variety cannot be limited to good field performance: it must be recognizable when eaten, consistent in quality and capable of generating value along the entire chain.
Karima® between taste, shelf life and premium positioning
Karima® is listed by The Summer Berry Company among the strawberry varieties in its assortment, associated with the breeder Mattivi Genetics. The variety is also described in technical industry materials as an everbearing strawberry from Mattivi Group, commercially tested since 2018, with characteristics such as high productivity, good shelf life, easy picking, and juicy, tasty fruit.
These elements help explain why the award has market value. In the strawberry segment, varietal competition is no longer based only on productivity or logistical performance, but on a more complex balance: yield, ease of management, firmness, fruit brightness, shelf life and organoleptic quality. Consumers, especially in premium channels, tend to reward consistency in the eating experience: a strawberry that is attractive, but also good, recognizable and reliable.
The recognition at the Excellent Taste Awards 2026 therefore strengthens Karima®’s positioning as a value-oriented variety. In the award winners’ profile, Karima® is described as a strawberry variety with juicy fruit, fresh taste and superior flavour.
The supply chain as a success factor
One of the most relevant aspects of the Karima® case is the collaboration between breeding, production and marketing. The variety was developed by Mattivi Breeding and is marketed by The Summer Berry Company, a model that confirms the growing importance of international partnerships in the enhancement of new genetics.
In the berry market, in fact, a variety does not reach the consumer thanks to its genetic characteristics alone. It needs a supply chain capable of testing it, producing it correctly, enhancing it through commercial channels and communicating its value to retailers and end consumers. In this sense, the Gold Award also represents recognition of the joint work carried out by the breeder and commercial operators.
“The result achieved by Karima® shows how important it is to build varieties designed for the entire supply chain,” says Luciano Mattivi. “Breeding must start in the field, but reach all the way to the consumer. Only in this way can a new variety truly create value.”
Taste returns to the center of varietal competition
The award given to Karima® comes at a time when the strawberry and berry market is strongly reconsidering the role of taste. After years in which commercial priorities focused on availability, shelf life, standardization and logistical resistance, sensory quality is once again becoming a strategic element.
For retailers, a premium strawberry must help build consumer loyalty. For growers, it must enable differentiation from undifferentiated production. For the breeder, it must demonstrate that genetic innovation can generate value not only in the field, but also at the decisive moment of tasting.
In this scenario, the Gold Award at the Excellent Taste Awards 2026 strengthens Karima®’s reputation and confirms the ability of Italian breeding to engage with international markets. For Mattivi Group, it is an important step in a broader path: developing berries capable of combining agronomic performance, commercial quality and eating pleasure.
Karima® thus becomes an interesting case for the entire sector: an Italian variety that, through an international supply chain, obtains recognition based on taste. A clear signal for the market: in the premium segment, varietal difference must also be perceived on the palate.
