Hopefully they are on holiday. Or even better, enjoy the fact that everyone else is on holiday. But once again, every plant producer is wondering which berry plants, varieties and assortments to choose for next spring. Because soon the young plants will have to be ordered. At Lubera Edibles, too, young plant production is controlled according to the order history and incoming orders. Later in winter or spring, you then have to take what is still available.
Hobby gardeners' demand for berry plants
Of course, we produce a product that is far too niche for us to be able to measure the real demand from hobby gardeners through elaborate surveys. But our sister company Lubera AG with its online shop sells a wide range of our berries throughout the year - and sales over two years provide a fairly complete picture of demand trends. We will therefore analyse the sales figures of our sister company below in order to gain some tips and hints for designing our product range
The soft fruit assortment structure
Firstly, a look at the product range structure:
How do we know that? The figures from our colleagues at Lubera. A total of over 200,000 berry plants ordered by consumers directly from Lubera online
There were surprises here too. Gooseberries are very low, blueberries very high. What is really new, however, is the range summarised under wild fruit.
Wild fruit - the new added value
While sales figures for traditional soft fruit are shrinking, there is one group that is growing rapidly. Why? Well, that may become clear at second glance. All these plant species fit perfectly into the Lubera® scheme.
- Resistant, there are hardly any diseases worth mentioning in the home garden
- Simple, regular pruning helps, but is not always necessary, as is fertilisation, etc.
- different: the plant species mentioned are not found everywhere, but surprise several times a year with flowers/scent, tasty fruits and autumn colours
- Flavourful: have you ever tasted amelanchier, eaten sea buckthorn straight from the bush or tried an olive willow? Exactly, extraordinary new flavours
Raspberries and no end
It is also worth taking a look at established product ranges. At 55%, raspberries are still the most important soft fruit group.
The table above provides clear indications for planning a raspberry assortment. The emphasis is on having enough autumn raspberries, but Twotimer® raspberries are also becoming increasingly popular. Twotimer® Sugana, our classic, is always in second place in the TOP10 list.
Our top 10 list of raspberries clearly reflects this.
And if you've always wondered why you need yellow raspberries, this graphic is recommended, yes you need them, with just over 10%...
Is bigger really better?
One topic has already been discussed here, the equalisation of the entire soft fruit range via the 2-litre corner pot (insert link here).
Raspberries are predominantly in demand in small pots, in contrast to blueberries. Not really a new realisation, but nobody is acting on it. In an environment of constantly rising costs and therefore prices for the end consumer, it is ultimately worth considering differentiating more.
Ask us
We have the information you need for your product range planning. Just ask us. Incidentally, now is the best time for non-binding preliminary planning or ordering anyway, as we are currently propagating the young plants for deliveries from January. First come, first serve.
