The shelf life of berries does not matter so much to German consumers

20/04/2017

The French like blueberries less than the British. Out-of-season berries have less flavor. Germans consume berries mainly for breakfast. Of these three statements, the first is true, the second is a prejudice that many consumers have and the third is completely false, as shown by the results of the study carried out by Ipsos Mori, and that Pippa Bailey presented during the Global Berry Congress. , where he shed some light on the British, French and German markets.

In the United Kingdom, France and Germany, the undisputed favorite is strawberry, as more than a third of respondents in the three countries admitted to buying strawberries in the last twelve months. Likewise, raspberries and blackberries also receive good scores in the three markets, with 25% and 20% buyers, respectively, but the result of the blueberries is more varied. Both the British and the Germans exceed the 20%, but France stays at the 14%, which means that there are far fewer French consumers who buy blueberries.
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Generation gap in consumption

When looking more closely at the participant data, there is something else that stands out, and that is that young people are barely represented, something that happens in all types of "berries" except blueberries. “We see a peak in the 15-34 age group, which usually has to do with the fact that those in this group have families, and blueberries are suitable for families,” explains Bailey.

In any case, to attract younger consumers, Bailey sees opportunities, for example, in frozen fruits, and also adds that the prices of "berries" can be a barrier for this group. Regarding the frozen sector, OctoFrost, a Swedish company that offers IQF refrigeration machines, also considers it promising, so Anna Dyc spoke at the event about these machines, emphasizing that freezing fruits is a way to reduce waste. Anna Dyc estimates that 20% of the berry harvest is lost during cultivation and another 3% during post-harvest treatments, all before the products even reach consumers. “Freezing products requires special machinery to truly extend their shelf life.”, according to Dyc.

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The moments of consumption depend on each country

On the other hand, between the three countries there are big differences in terms of when berries are usually consumed. On the one hand, British consumers eat them more during breakfast, especially blueberries and strawberries, although these fruits have also made their way as a "snack", a category in which strawberries are especially in demand.

On the contrary, the French prefer to have croissants and baguettes for breakfast instead of "berries", which only occupy a small percentage. Likewise, in France, the snack culture is less developed, according to Bailey, so it is not surprising that berries are hardly consumed as snacks, but they do enjoy a good position as desserts, since it is the time when they are most consumed. Finally, German consumers stand out for consuming berries as snacks, particularly strawberries. «In Germany, more fruits are consumed in total and more constantly», says Bailey.

The useful life is less important

However, there are two points on which the Germans, the French and the British agree. In all three countries, the most important thing when buying berries is flavor, followed by value for money. However, in the rest of the issues they show clear differences: while the Germans consider the appearance of the fruits important, the French and the British value it less.

There are also big differences in the organic sector, a factor that the British consider less important when buying berries, but which in France has much more value. Similarly, although the French and Germans clearly value local products, the United Kingdom does not consider it as relevant. Finally, compared to the other two countries, shelf life is less important for German consumers. «Germans consume fruit faster than in the United Kingdom or France, so shelf life matters less to them».

Interestingly, consumers also have many prejudices or misconceptions. For example, 79% of French people believe that berries do not taste as good out of season, despite all efforts to market tasty varieties. This percentage is also quite high in Germany, with 64%, and in the United Kingdom, with 42% of consumers.

The same occurs with the proportion of imported fruits in each country's supply. All three countries overestimate the share of imported strawberries, but the opposite is true for raspberries. The French believe that 49% of raspberries are imported, when the real percentage is 75%. Finally, in Germany, consumers also overestimate the percentages of all imported berries.

Source: Freshplaza.es