The dominance of Rubus berries (raspberries and blackberries) in the home gardening market is undisputed, but even greater than one might think. This has many implications for product range planning and marketing. Even though it is a good strategy to develop other types of berries and fruits and promote their sales, there is no way around raspberries and blackberries if we want to increase the overall market share of berry plants in home gardens. The only way to do this is through innovation, from breeding to marketing.
Summary
Raspberries and blackberries (Rubus) dominate the home garden market for berry plants much more strongly than is often perceived. Rubus species account for over two-thirds of actual demand – a dominance that can be explained by their ease of cultivation, rapid yield formation, moderate soil requirements, and high consumer acceptance. Despite strategically sound efforts to promote other berry species, there is no way around Rubus if the berry market as a whole is to grow. Innovation is the key lever here.
The only serious challenger is the blueberry, which is showing strong growth, especially in commercial cultivation. In home gardens, however, soil pH, fertilisation, and the foreseeable move away from peat-based substrates limit its potential. For assortment planning and marketing, this means that Rubus must be clearly differentiated from other berry varieties – especially against the standardisation of mixed CC container offerings.
A dual strategy makes sense, particularly for raspberries: attractively priced mass products on the one hand and innovative, higher-quality varieties on the other. Advances in breeding – larger fruits, new colours, Twotimer® and hybrid concepts, different growth types – open up additional market opportunities in the short to medium term. Lubera Edibles and the breeding programme at Lubera breeding provide the best young plants for this purpose.
The market share of Rubus berries
It will be apparent to every reader that Rubus berries dominate the market for berry plants. We have evaluated the sales figures from Lubera.com, which are generated online based on a stable supply composition throughout the year and are therefore very well suited to represent effective consumer demand (independent of push offers and promotions).
The result is astonishing: Over two-thirds of the berry plants sold and specifically requested are Rubus berries. No other berry family comes close to this dominance.
Graphic: Overview of berry plants sold at Lubera
Reasons for the dominance of Rubus
The reasons for the dominance of Rubus berry species are obvious, but it does not harm to point them out from time to time. They are the same reasons that are currently decisive for demand and, ideally, for advertising.
- Simple and industrialised propagation and production of young plants through in vitro cultivation
- Relatively small young plants that are easy for hobby buyers to display and carry
- Quick path to full yield: 1–2 years (which, incidentally, is not emphasised enough in advertising; this is especially important for spring offers of autumn raspberries, which bear fruit in the same year (after 4–5 months!)
- Hobby gardeners usually plant 1–3 bush berries (such as currants), but 5–10 blackberries or raspberries
- No extreme requirements in terms of soil conditions (compare with blueberries), except that very heavy soils should be avoided
- Blackberries and raspberries are simply good and healthy, there is no doubt about that, which corresponds to their basic image – and the reality...
- Reasonable cultivation period and sustainability, 4–6 years. The fact that raspberries often have to be replaced later does not seem to be an obstacle to buying them again, but instead promotes demand for young plants
- Rubus plants are considered native, as they are also known as wild plants. It is irrelevant that at least half of the genetics of raspberries (Rubus strigosus) originates from the United States, and two-thirds of blackberry genetics were also imported from North America...
Blueberries as the sole challenger
The only berry fruit with strong growth figures that stands out from the rest of the berry varieties is the blueberry.
It is foreseeable that blueberries will overtake Rubus berries in commercial cultivation in the relatively near future (if they have not already done so). Here, the systematic problems (soil pH, need for acidic soil) can be addressed through fertigation and pot cultivation, albeit not without difficulty. In addition, the parallel development of northern highbush blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum) and southern highbush blueberries (little or no cold requirement, Vaccinium ashei, Vaccinium darrowii) has led to a stable year-round supply in supermarkets, with southern hemisphere varieties available in autumn and winter. Fruit consumers can no longer escape blueberries. Another advantage is that blueberries and varieties bred specifically for this purpose can also be stored and transported very well (in a controlled atmosphere for up to two months), at least much more easily and for longer than raspberries and blackberries.
In home gardens, on the other hand, the inherent problems associated with blueberries (acidic soil, special fertilisation) can be solved only to a limited extent (except in pot cultivation). I therefore consider it likely that demand for blueberries in the home gardening market will stabilise, and may even decline in the medium term. The simplicity or complexity of cultivation is, after all, a key driver of the home gardening market. The foreseeable decline in peat supplies and possibly even a ban on peat (see England) will accelerate this development: without peat-based substrates, blueberry cultivation will become even more complicated. For the time being, I do not see consumers regularly checking and adjusting the soil pH with sulphur or other agents. This will only change when pH-tolerant varieties and variety-rootstock combinations become available, similar to INKARHO® rhododendrons. We are also working on this in our Lubera breeding programme, but it is a medium- to long-term project, and the outcome of our breeding efforts remains unclear.
Consequences for product range planning and marketing
Once again, simply because the figure is so impressive: two-thirds of the berry plants in demand on the market (excluding strawberries) are Rubus, raspberries and blackberries. This must, of course, be taken into account in product range planning and marketing.
The curse of the mixed CC container
The title of this section may be somewhat provocative, but it reflects the facts. Supply and demand intermediaries, especially chains, have introduced mixed CC containers, whose uniformity is difficult for consumers and suppliers to escape. All berry plants on these CC containers ultimately become one product, with the same labelling, the same size, and the same or similar prices. The logic of the sales platform and the sales intermediary dominates the logic of both the producer and the hobby gardener.
Of course, it makes a big difference to plant producers whether they can produce raspberries or blackberries in large quantities industrially or whether they have to produce other types of fruit with only 5–10% of the Rubus volume. And the dominant CC container offering also has little to do with demand. Although the mix and blending ratios are adjusted to some extent in response to demand, differentiation is lost for consumers if cultivation mistakes occur. Similarly, their willingness to pay for niche products is significantly undercut, which ultimately damages the entire system, the entire chain from grower to consumer.
Differentiation between Rubus and other berries
It will be essential to differentiate between Rubus berries and other berries, if possible, also in terms of pot sizes and prices. This is the only way to develop all types of berry fruit further and increase overall demand through innovation.
Which products are price-sensitive?
If we manage to escape or avoid the curse of the CC container offerings, there is really only one price-sensitive variety left: raspberries. More plants are purchased here per purchase, so that the price difference can be significant.
Differentiation of strategy for raspberries: mass product vs. innovation
In terms of production and supply logic, it makes a lot of sense to differentiate the range of raspberries: on the one hand, raspberries must be offered at good to very good prices, but on the other hand, it is easy to create higher-value and higher-priced offerings through innovation (special fruit colours, gourmet raspberries, compact varieties, pot varieties). It is an essential task for Lubera Edibles and Lubera’s breeding programme to provide this through the range of varieties from our own breeding efforts (see also the article on Chef® raspberries and blackberries).
Innovation thanks to the breeding programme at Lubera®
Lubera and Lubera Edibles run the only Rubus breeding programme in the world that is primarily focused on home gardens (with the goals of improving taste, ease of cultivation, resistance, and diversity in colours, shapes, and growth types). This not only leads to varieties that are ideal for the home garden market, but also enables the creation of assortments from a single source. There is no need to purchase a certain number of varieties from various suppliers.
Of course, raspberries need to be better and bigger, as well as more diverse, in terms of colour and shape. In marketing, the primary focus is to highlight the differences between the old varieties, some of which are over 50 years old, and the new Lubera varieties. The differences are striking: modern autumn raspberries from the Lubera range, such as Autumn Happy® or Summer Chef®, are up to twice as large as their predecessors developed more than 50 years ago. Three to four grams or six to eight grams make a decisive difference in the mouth; the taste buds are stimulated more quickly and intensely, and the taste experience is more intense.
And to serve the mass market with new varieties, we have developed Grand Heritage® and Zeva Nova®, which can be offered with a minimal license surcharge.
Twotimer® varieties are a further step in our progress. They are based on our development of high-yield varieties that bear fruit apically on the one-year-old canes, in the top 50–70 cm, from mid-August to September. They can then bear fruit a second time at the start of the raspberry season in June on the lower part of the cane.
In our long-term strategy, we are focusing on fusion products and have begun producing raspberry-blackberry hybrids for the first time in 60 years, using a relatively complex process. We expect various breeding breakthroughs in the long term because the base varieties used in breeding are far removed from the old parent varieties: raspberries are currently two to three times larger than their grandparents, can be thornless and autumn-bearing, and the earliest varieties bear fruit from the beginning of July. The blackberry parents are also thornless, much sweeter and larger, and some parents also offer the possibility of producing berries on this year's wood. We are very excited to see the outcome. We will see the first results in the summer of 2026, and it will probably take another breeding generation (5-10 years) before the plant varieties are ready.
Much faster: new opportunities with blackberries!
Much faster than with hybrid berries, we will be able to realise new breeding and marketing opportunities for blackberries together with you, our customers. But you can find out more about this in the following article on the turning point for blackberries (new varieties starting in 2027).
FAQ
Why do raspberries and blackberries dominate the home garden market?
They are easy to cultivate, bear fruit quickly, are versatile, and are perceived as familiar by consumers.
What role does innovation play in the Rubus segment?
Innovation is the only way to maintain and expand market share – for example, through new variety types, fruit sizes, colours, and usage concepts.
Are blueberries a real competition for Rubus?
In commercial cultivation, yes, but in home gardens only to a limited extent, as soil pH and substrate issues overwhelm many hobby gardeners.
Why are raspberries particularly price-sensitive?
Because they are usually bought in large quantities and price differences are more significant here.
What is the problem with mixed CC container offers?
They level out differences between berry types, reduce willingness to pay for niche products, and damage variety diversity in the long term.
What are Twotimer® raspberries?
Varieties that bear fruit twice: first in the summer on the lower part of the cane, then later in autumn on the one-year-old shoots.
What opportunities do raspberry-blackberry hybrids offer?
In the long term, major advances in breeding, as modern parent varieties are significantly more productive than previous generations.
