Berry sector signals hope during recession

The soft-fruit sector is one area of fresh produce that just keeps on giving.

Just when last year’s figures suggested its decade of impressive sales increases was coming to an end, new data shows it is back in double-digit growth, with healthy volume sales thrown in for good measure.

As Kantar Worldpanel’s Ed Garner pointed out at last week’s Global Berry Congress (see page 4), soft fruit is not a necessary purchase. Berries are exactly the kind of impulse buy you would expect consumers to cut out of the basket in tough economic times.

Yet through a combination of excellent marketing, a focus on varietal development, well-balanced supply and good support from retailers, the category continues to flourish.

And the great thing is the category has real potential to grow further. Asda’s soft-fruit buyer Andy Jackson says there is still significant opportunity to grow sales of more niche berries, while breeders have been enthusiastically talking up the potential of blackberries this year.

If it’s true that consumers are starting to get “recession fatigue” and are willing to treat themselves to good food while they cut back in other areas, the fresh produce sector can still be a winner in hard times.