Berries are available on shelves In Milan but not in large quantities, possibly due to low orders since the beginning of the new year, following the holiday season. However, rotation is good, and all batches are from the current year, particularly from the last 2–3 days.
Quality standards are not excellent: blackberries and raspberries are not visually appealing, and issues are starting to arise for blueberries from Peru, possibly due to the end of the season.
Prices for raspberries and blueberries are generally low, while blackberry prices are high due to limited availability. Blueberries are sourced exclusively from Peru, raspberries almost exclusively from Morocco, with rare instances from Italy, while blackberries come only from Mexico.
This is the summary from the Berries Observatory conducted today, January 8, 2025, in the urban area of Milan (Italy), covering 19 stores of 18 banners belonging to 15 retail groups.
Retailers surveyed:
Aldi, Bennet, Carrefour Express, Carrefour Market, Conad, Coop, Esselunga, Eurospin, iN's, Iper La Grande I, Iperal, Ipercoop, Lidl, MD, Pam, Penny, Tigros, U2.
Assortment
In the stores visited, the berry category featured between 1 and 7 SKUs, with an average of 3.6 SKUs per store. The assortment percentages in the stores were as follows:
- Raspberries: 89%
- Blueberries: 100%
- Blackberries: 42%
- Red currants: 32%
- Mixed packs: 21%
Range Breadth
- 5% of stores with berries offered only one SKU.
- 53% offered two or three SKUs.
- 42% had four or more SKUs available.
Quality
Quality is defined by product health, measured in terms of:
- Absence of significant defects.
- Healthy product but in less than ideal conditions (not fresh, dull, shriveled, lacking bloom).
- Presence of damaged fruits and juice.
- Presence of spoiled fruits and mold.
The groups with the best quality were identified as: Aldi, Carrefour, Esselunga, Eurospin, Finiper, Gruppo PAM, Iperal, Lidl, Rewe, and Unes.
Sales Prices
Prices for berries varied:
- Raspberries (21 observations): average €19.28/kg (€11.96–€30.80/kg)
- Blueberries (31 observations): average €15.17/kg (€9.96–€30.40/kg)
- Blackberries (9 observations): average €26.68/kg (€23.60–€31.92/kg)
- Red currants (7 observations): average €23.46/kg (€19.60–€27.92/kg)
- Mixed packs (6 observations): average €22.39/kg (€13.30–€24.60/kg)
A total of 74 price observations were made, with an overall average price of €19.11 per kilo.
Brands
Berries from a total of 27 brands were present in the surveyed stores.
The brand with the highest average prices for the category was Carrefour il Mercato, while the brand with the lowest average prices for blueberries was Lovita, followed by Cuna De Platero.
Packaging
58% of the SKUs for blueberries were sold in 125-gram packages.
Retailers listed by descending average price (€/kg) of the berry category
| Retailer | Two-pack | Raspberries | Blueberries | Mix | Blackberries | Red currants | Three-pack | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carrefour express | 30,80 | 30,40 | 30,60 | |||||
| Carrefour Market | 26,00 | 17,76 | 26,80 | 27,84 | 24,60 | |||
| Ipercoop | 23,92 | 12,95 | 31,92 | 22,93 | ||||
| U2 | 23,45 | 15,92 | 15,92 | 23,92 | 27,92 | 21,43 | ||
| Conad | 15,92 | 19,51 | 24,90 | 23,84 | 21,04 | |||
| Bennet | 19,60 | 17,20 | 23,60 | 19,60 | 24,33 | 20,87 | ||
| Esselunga | 21,36 | 16,03 | 23,84 | 19,84 | 23,20 | 20,85 | ||
| Pam | 14,95 | 23,12 | 12,74 | 30,32 | 27,12 | 13,30 | 20,26 | |
| Tigros | 15,92 | 11,82 | 23,92 | 22,32 | 24,60 | 19,72 | ||
| Coop | 20,72 | 15,92 | 18,32 | |||||
| Iper La Grande I | 29,95 | 11,96 | 9,96 | 17,29 | ||||
| Penny | 15,92 | 15,92 | 15,92 | |||||
| Iperal | 18,95 | 15,92 | 12,31 | 15,73 | ||||
| MD | 17,52 | 13,52 | 15,52 | |||||
| Eurospin | 15,92 | 13,95 | 14,94 | |||||
| Lidl | 14,76 | 14,76 | ||||||
| iN's | 15,92 | 11,92 | 13,92 | |||||
| Aldi | 13,14 | 13,14 |
Online retail prices
Click here to access the weekly updated online price lists for berries.
