When given the opportunity to taste a product first, it’s interesting to see how open consumers are to trying something new.
Blackberries may be relatively unknown members of the berry family, but Driscoll’s knows that once shoppers have tasted the goods, they’ll be willing to part with their pennies.
A weekend promotion saw 30 French supermarkets hold blackberry taste trials, alongside a mix-and-match package deal, offering three punnets for €5.
Consumers could choose between raspberries, blueberries and blackberries, and although the berry taste tests seemed to lower the barrier to buy across the entire category, the blackberries were particularly popular with French consumers.
Overall, that weekend delivered upwards of ten times the normal sales. When compared to an average sales week, the blackberry saw a 17-fold uplift – almost matching the better-known blueberry!
Driscoll’s let the taste do the talking, allowing its blackberries to successfully penetrate the category.
Driscoll’s Blackberries
The blackberries of Driscoll’s are characterised by a big, plump shape, and are bursting with sweet juice. The taste can be described as having an earthy wine-like taste, with a full, sweet flavour.
This is thanks to Driscoll’s unique breeding programme, which looks at thousands of blackberry plants each year in search of the finest flavour, appearance and shelf life.
In collaboration with growers in Mexico, Morocco, Portugal, Belgium and the Netherlands, Driscoll’s can now deliver an all-year blackberry programme without having to compromise on that distinctive earthy wine-like taste.
A very interesting variety is Driscoll’s Victoria®. It should no longer be a secret that this berry is bigger, juicier and perfectly sweet when compared to other blackberries. This variety can single-handedly change the berry category once people have tasted it.
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