The berry market in the urban area of Verona is mainly characterized by imports from overseas countries, with a clear overall shortage of local supply. Or rather: although shelves are full, many points of sale feature a large number of different brands.
As for quality, standards for blueberries and raspberries are good; currants show some issues, and so do blackberries, especially those from Mexico, affected by rainfall at the origin.
Prices for blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries are high, with the exception of currants, which are very cheap.
Findings from October 15
This is the key summary from the Berry Observatory which on October 15, 2025 analyzed 15 points of sale from 15 banners belonging to 13 retail groups in Verona.
The banners examined include: Aldi, Conad, Esselunga, Eurospar, Eurospin, Famila, Galassia, Iper La Grande I, Lidl, Martinelli, MD, Migross, Prix, Rossetto, Spazio Conad.
Assortment
In the stores visited, the berry category showed a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 7 SKUs, with an average of 4.4 SKUs per store. The assortment percentages in stores were as follows: raspberries 93%; blueberries 100%; blackberries 80%; red currants 33%; mixes 33%.
Range breadth
7% of the stores with berries on offer had just one SKU, 20% had 2 or 3 SKUs, while 73% had four or more SKUs available.
Quality
Quality refers to product health, measured in terms of: absence of significant defects; sound fruit but in less than ideal condition (not fresh, tired, shriveled, dull, without bloom); presence of damaged fruit and juice; presence of spoiled fruit and mold.
The groups with the best quality were identified as Aldi, Finiper, Lidl, Migross and Prix.
Retail prices
Berry prices are variable:
Raspberries: average €23.74/kg (min. €19.20/kg – max. €31.92/kg)
Blueberries: average €17.72/kg (min. €11.96/kg – max. €31.92/kg)
Blackberries: average €23.76/kg (min. €15.92/kg – max. €30.32/kg)
Red currants: average €18.56/kg (min. €11.92/kg – max. €35.92/kg)
Mixes: average €23.63/kg (min. €19.93/kg – max. €25.00/kg)
A total of 80 price records were collected with an overall average price of €21.01/kg (min. €11.92/kg – max. €35.92/kg).
Brands
In the stores analyzed, berries from a total of 21 brands were present. Almaverde Bio proved to be the brand with the highest average prices in the category.
The brand with the lowest average blueberry prices was Widmann, followed by Camposol.
Packaging
47% of the blueberry SKUs were sold in 125-gram packs.
