This year's strawberry harvest in Belgium is abundant, thanks to the summer temperatures experienced in recent weeks. "I think we had one of the biggest peaks of the season in terms of production, as well as consumption," explains Quentin Jumet, head of fruit and vegetables at the Intermarché store of Gerpinnes, Belgium.
© Intermarché de Gerpinnes
An effective "1+1 free" promotion
To accompany this peak in production, the store introduced a promotion the weekend before last, "1+1 free for €4.99 [5.64 USD]." The promotional offer had the desired effect. "It was another sunny weekend, and we could clearly see the increase in sales over the week, so it was really the right time to run such a promotion on Tomabel Sensation B-caliber strawberries. It is a slightly smaller strawberry than we are used to seeing, but it is still very attractive. We worked on a competitive price and maximum freshness with day-to-day orders. This strategy produced very good results, with over 1,200 trays sold over the weekend! This means that, in retrospect, we were not mistaken about the relevance of this promotion."
Consistent quality since the start of the season
The smooth flow of sales was also made possible by the high quality of our products. "Our supplier, Jacques Remy (Charleroi), always has top-quality products at attractive prices. Generally speaking, we usually have a production peak that is a little lower in quality because of the rain, but so far, we have had nothing to report this year. On the contrary, we have only received good feedback. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our supplier, Jacques Remy, for our close collaboration throughout the year, without whom this promotion would not have been possible. I would also like to thank my team, who worked hard to cope with the large volumes absorbed that weekend."
© Intermarché de Gerpinnes
A very positive 2025 campaign so far
While sales were boosted by this promotional action, the 2025 strawberry season has been going very well in general. "We usually sell strawberries from mid-April to early September. We are already well into the season, and we can already say that this year's sales have been and continue to be incredible. Demand will ease with the arrival of stone fruits on the market, but strawberries are still a summer staple and play an important role throughout the season."
For more information:
Quentin Jumet
Intermarché
https://www.linkedin.com/in/quentin-jumet-82bb468a/
