"Spain: "This year we have sold over 18% more strawberries"

Grufesa manager Carlos Cumbreras highlighted the work carried out by the company to be able to offer consumers a high quality strawberry, which has become one of the pillars of the cooperative. These details, as explained by the manager, have contributed to achieving "an acceptable campaign."

Regarding the development of the season, the manager explained that it has been marked by a premature start and two very distinct stages, with Easter as the turning point, in which prices at origin behaved differently. "Although globally they have been somewhat lower than last year, this decline was mitigated by the increase in the volume of fresh fruit marketed compared to the previous season, which in our case reached about 18%," he explained.

 

"The campaign has been longer because it started very early, in early November. Subsequently, there was a slight drop in January because of the numerous holidays, although this is common, and then we can divide it into two parts," he explained.

In the first stage of the campaign, Cumbreras notes that there were "higher volumes, although with lower prices." The second stage, however, has been characterised by "increased sales and better prices compared to the previous campaign," thus contributing to a rebound which made it possible to close the season with an 18% increase in the volume marketed fresh.

The profitable results achieved this campaign have allowed Grufesa to do good to the area where it is based, due to the hiring of the necessary labour for the proper development of the campaign.

This has been the campaign of the launch of Mr. Blue, Grufesa's blueberry. Although there are still no definitive data on this berry, because the campaign is still underway, "for Grufesa this has meant a commitment to diversification," stressed the manager.

This campaign, Grufesa has been devoted to the creation of new formats for the marketing of its strawberries. Consequently, several new packaging formats have been released, including the relaunched special gift pack LOVE; a special format for children, which allows them to draw on it; initiatives for Easter or the transparent labelling formats, among others.

According to Cumbreras, Grufesa will "continue walking on this path, because we believe it is important to differentiate yourself not only with the best quality fruit, but also with an attractive format that our consumers can identify with."