Cherries rank on top of European consumers' preferences

The seven-nation European project BreedingValue is aimed at enhancing the value of fruits such as strawberry, blueberry and raspberry, and involves seven nations Italy, France, Germany, Spain, UK, Finland and Turkey.

One of the activities of the project, conducted between March and July 2022, and led by the Institute of Bioeconomics of the CNR, with the support of European partners, was to engage consumers through a multilingual online survey to understand the liking of the fruits studied in the project, compared to other popular fruits.

The cherry in second place

More than 900 consumers participated in the survey, and the most popular fruit among the 18 proposed was strawberry, with raspberry in fourth place and blueberry in fifth. Excellent placings then for these 'up-and-coming' fruits.

In second place was the cherry, with an average rating of 6.1 out of 7. 

The cherry is, among the most liked fruits, in third place in Turkey, second place in France and the United Kingdom, almost equal to the strawberry for Spanish consumers, and first place for Italian consumers (rating 6.4 out of 7). 

In Germany, the whole podium is for the berry: strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, in that order, with the cherry in fourth place. 

Only in Finland is the cherry not among the top 10 most popular fruits, but the difference between the opinions of consumers in the different countries gives an idea that the online survey was conducted carefully and with a desire to offer honest individual judgements.

The survey, it is important for the research, to segment consumers according to preferences and expectations, highlighted the high appreciation for berries, but also showed how the cherry, together with the peach (in third position

according to international ratings ... and second in Italy ahead of the strawberry), is an important reference when it comes to taste, quality and the pleasure of eating fruit.

Ranking of the proposed fruits in order of 'international' liking

1. Strawberry
2. Cherry
3. Peach
4. Raspberry
5. Blueberry
6. Watermelon
7. Orange
8. Apricot
9. Blackberry
10. Grape
11. Banana
12. Apple
13. Pineapple
14. Plum
15. Pear
16. Kiwi
17. Pomegranate
18. Grapefruit

Ranking of the preferences of the approximately 350 Italian participants

1. Cherry
2. Peach
3. Strawberry
4. Apricot
5. Raspberry
6. Blueberry
7. Blackberry
8. Orange
9. Watermelon
10. Grape
11. Pineapple
12. Apple
13. Banana
14. Plum
15. Pear
16. Kiwi
17. Pomegranate

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