To fulfill growing market demand for blueberries, one of Germany’s largest retailers, REWE, has decided to guarantee quality by selling fruit exclusively from the Sekoya network. 

The Livie logo, which is used uniquely to recognize the highest quality Sekoya varieties, will be placed on the packaging for the company’s value-added brand REWE Beste Wahl and serves as a guarantee of the quality in the firmness, taste, and size of its blueberries.

“We were able to observe that the quality of a Sekoya blueberry performed significantly better compared to other varieties,” Marco Migliore, senior category buyer at REWE tells FreshFruitPortal.com.

“We are convinced that the key to success for better sales lies in ensuring consistent quality. Here Sekoya has been significantly more homogenous,” adds Migliore. 

Increased consumption

As in many global markets, blueberry consumption in Germany has increased steadily in the last couple of years, meaning that consumers are more and more demanding with the fruit they are buying. 

Regarding consumer trends, Migliore says: “In recent years there has been a noticeable increase in demand for blueberries. The customer uses the fruit in a much more varied way than a few years ago. Be it snacking, on salads, in a muesli, or in smoothies.”

Migliore is keen on the fact that quality plays a decisive role and that it must always be impeccable. 

“If the customer is disappointed once, he will refrain from buying again for a few weeks and this not only costs sales but also customer confidence,” he comments. 

The Livie branded blueberries will be available in REWE Southwest and consumers will be able to buy them in the South West Germany region from late October (week 43).

The exclusive provider of the fruit will be Agrovision, the first Sekoya member with fully approved Livie farms.