BLUEBERRY MARKETING IN THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY

I would like to thank the organizers of the Third International Symposium on Vaccinium Culture for the invitation and for the opportunity to submit my modest contribution made from the view point of the distributor.

When NORDGEMÜSE started 25 years ago offering beyond the then distributing place Hannover the clients were still very skeptical of this marvellous fruit. Wholesale prices for the then nearly unknown product were DM 2,-- per kg and the 5 kg basket, which has been created by Dr. Heermann, was then offered on the market for DM 10,-- and below. Already then Dr. Heermann had the idea to use very small packages and we visited with the very beautiful 40) g packages health-food shops and specialised retailers in order to broaden thus the sale basis. Many purchasers reacted negatively because the fruit was simply rejected as a bad imitation of the wonderful cranberry.

Many years of work-down to the consumer - were necessary to introduce the new product. Our clients pay today between DM 6,-- and DM 7,-- per kg bilberry and this success has in my view be achieved essentially by the tight way of marketing performed by my company.

Although the cultivated area has been expanded every year - since 1959 from 50 hectare to approximately 200 hectare - 300 hectare today - NORDGEMÜSE managed not only to hold the sale price but to increase it every year. This could be done despite the fact that our increased prices attracted Dutch increasingly merchandise to the German market, which has always been traded below our prices and despite a few non-judicious domestic farmers, who disturbed again and again the market by not using our central sale organisation.

In the past I asked the group of the German bilberry growers during the annual meetings to increase the common sale through our company, to expand cultivation,

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