Demand for strawberries rises among younger consumers

Dutch association GroentenFruit Huis says demand for strawberries among younger consumers rose by 6 per cent in 2025, as the Netherlands’ own crop grew to around 91,000 tonnes.

In a new report published on its website, the group said people aged below 40 were increasingly discovering the fruit, prompting new investment in its production.

Strawberry acreage in the country apparently reached 1,337ha in 2025, of which 732ha was open field, and the remainder in tunnels and under glass.

“Strawberry production has shown an upward trend for years,” it said in a press release. “The growth of cultivation under glass, in particular, makes the sector less dependent on weather conditions and better able to meet increasing demand.”

According to the research, May and June are the months in which Dutch consumers eat the most strawberries, accounting for almost 40 per cent of the total annual quantity consumed each year.

In 2025, the Dutch reportedly ate an average of 2.8kg of strawberries, or nearly six 500g punnets per person. Five years ago, the equivalent figure was around 2.5kg.

The fruit was sold primarily through supermarkets, which accounted for 83% of the volume.

In addition, the Netherlands remains a major player on the European market, with total export sales( including re-exports) of 107,000 tonnes.

Besides the domestic market, which took 47 per cent of the crop, Germany (15 per cent), the UK (11 per cent), and Belgium (9 per cent) were the most important export destinations.

Promotional push

In 2025, GroentenFruit Huis launched ‘Een Handje Zomer’ (A Handful of Summer), a three-year campaign to promote consumption of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries across Europe.

The campaign targets consumers aged 18-35 years old and is believed to have reached 32 per cent of this target group in the Netherlands after its first year, as well as 50 per cent of them in Belgium and Germany.

“The impact assessment shows that consumers generally have positive associations with soft fruit, and the majority primarily links the product category to summer,” the group commented.

With the start of another strawberry season, the project’s second year has also begun.

“In this campaign year, the emphasis is on further strengthening the impact: communicating in a more targeted way, catering to different eating occasions, and enticing consumers to choose soft fruit more often. The campaign is continuously visible and is building towards increased consumption step by step.”