In the Milan (Italy) retail market, berries confirm the situation observed in recent weeks in other locations. The quality standards are generally decent.
Specifically, blueberries originate from Spain, Italy, Chile, Peru, and Morocco.
Raspberries come exclusively from Morocco and Italy; the severe product shortage, the few available brands, and the very high prices due to limited supply are confirmed.
Blackberries originate from Mexico and, to a lesser extent, Portugal; prices remain high. The same applies to Italian red currants.
This is the summary of the Berries Observatory conducted today, March 19, 2025, in the urban area of Milan (Italy), covering 20 retail outlets of 20 banners belonging to 17 mass retail groups.
The assortments of the following retailers were surveyed: Aldi, Bennet, Carrefour Express, Carrefour Market, Conad, Coop, Esselunga, Eurospin, Il Gigante, iN's, Iper La Grande I, Iperal, Ipercoop, Lidl, MD, Pam, Penny, Prix Quality, Tigros, U2.
Assortment
In the surveyed stores, the berry category featured from a minimum of 1 to a maximum of 8 SKUs, with an average of 3.7 SKUs per store. The assortment percentages in stores were as follows: raspberries 75%; blueberries 100%; blackberries 65%; red currants 20%; mixed berries 25%.
Product Range
Among stores offering berries, 5% had only one SKU, 40% had two or three SKUs, while the remaining 55% had four or more available SKUs.
Quality
Quality refers to the healthiness of the product, measured in terms of: absence of significant defects; sound product but in less-than-ideal conditions (not fresh, wilted, shriveled, dull, lacking bloom); presence of damaged fruits and juice; presence of spoiled fruits and mold.
The groups with the best quality were identified as Aldi, Finiper, Iperal, Prix.
Retail Prices
Berry prices are variable:
Raspberries (22 observations): average €29.29/kg (€23.92 - €33.60/kg)
Blueberries (47 observations): average €17.81/kg (€9.80 - €34.24/kg)
Blackberries (14 observations): average €25.17/kg (€15.92 - €31.92/kg)
Red currants (4 observations): average €32.10/kg (€27.92 - €39.84/kg)
Mixed berries (6 observations): average €24.58/kg (€14.98 - €31.87/kg)
A total of 93 price observations were recorded, with an overall average price of €22.68 per kilo (min €9.80 - max €39.84).
Brands
In the analyzed retail outlets, berries from a total of 29 brands were available.
The brand with the highest average prices in the category was Carrefour Bio. The brand with the lowest average prices for blueberries was Onubafruit, followed by Cuna De Platero.
Packaging
60% of the blueberry SKUs were sold in 125-gram packs.
| Retailer | Two-pack | Raspberries | Blueberries | Mix | Blackberries | Currants | Three-pack | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carrefour express | 32,80 | 31,60 | 31,60 | 32,00 | ||||
| Carrefour Market | 22,40 | 32,40 | 22,41 | 23,92 | 39,84 | 31,87 | 28,81 | |
| Pam | 31,92 | 17,13 | 30,32 | 31,92 | 27,82 | |||
| Ipercoop | 31,92 | 15,92 | 31,92 | 28,72 | 27,12 | |||
| Bennet | 28,40 | 23,60 | 23,60 | 24,33 | 24,98 | |||
| U2 | 31,92 | 15,92 | 23,92 | 27,92 | 24,92 | |||
| Coop | 31,92 | 15,92 | 23,92 | |||||
| Iper La Grande I | 19,96 | 31,92 | 14,97 | 27,92 | 23,69 | |||
| Esselunga | 26,00 | 18,78 | 23,84 | 25,20 | 23,46 | |||
| Conad | 27,84 | 14,61 | 27,40 | 23,84 | 23,42 | |||
| Iperal | 24,95 | 29,20 | 14,50 | 22,88 | ||||
| Il Gigante | 17,54 | 23,20 | 23,84 | 26,53 | 22,78 | |||
| Penny | 27,92 | 15,92 | 23,92 | 22,59 | ||||
| Tigros | 23,92 | 13,23 | 23,92 | 19,79 | 20,21 | |||
| MD | 23,92 | 15,92 | 19,92 | |||||
| iN's | 23,92 | 14,32 | 19,12 | |||||
| Eurospin | 15,92 | 15,92 | ||||||
| Aldi | 15,92 | 15,92 | ||||||
| Prix Quality | 14,94 | 14,94 | ||||||
| Lidl | 11,59 | 11,59 |
