This year's Spanish strawberry season is undoubtedly unusual. "By now, we could write a thick book about it," says Filipe Ravazzini da Silva of Wilkofruit in the Netherlands. "This year's season has been highly erratic. The first supply arrived late, and the quality's been far from optimal, partly due to the bad weather. Strawberries simply don't like rain."

Most of Spain's strawberries come from the Huelva region, home to most Spanish soft fruit varieties. The strawberry season starts in late November/early December, with demand usually peaking around the holidays. Typically, demand drops in the first weeks of January, when many consumers are more mindful of their spending after Christmas. Given the inflation, lower sales were expected.

More interest in Calinda strawberries
Wilkofruit carries various well-known strawberry varieties like Fortuna, Palmeritas, Primoris, and Leticia. Recently, they have had an increased demand for better-tasting varieties such as Calinda. These strawberries need not be cultivated in heated greenhouses; they are grown outdoors from December through June. They are especially popular in winter because of their health benefits, including antioxidants and vitamins like C and B11, which boosts your immune system. "Appearance and shelf life aside, this variety wins on taste, which is a must for us. We start the season only when the strawberries' flavor, color, and quality are balanced. No one wants unripe fruit, or that doesn't taste good," Filipe explains.

Flavor, flavor, flavor
Wilkofruit does not only get Spanish strawberries in the winter. They have also imported these fruits from Morocco, Egypt, and Portugal for years. They source Spanish strawberries from several regular, long-term partners. These strawberries are marketed under the supplier's or Wilkofruit's Gaudias brands. "Everything's packaged according to the customer's wishes, which are very diverse because we have a wide client base. Most strawberries leave in 12x400gr, 10x500gr, 16x250gr punnets, or 1kg boxes. Lately, we're seeing plenty of 10x250gr, too, which look great."

"Still, it's really about the content. The packaging can be beautiful, but if the product doesn't taste good, it's a wasted effort. Flavor, flavor, flavor - that's what I firmly believe in. We've become specialists in stone fruit, cherry, and citrus specialists and are proud of that. Now, awareness of our soft fruit package is also noticeably increasing. We don't have to become the biggest in strawberries, but we do want to be the best," Filipe concludes.

Source - https://www.freshplaza.com