White strawberries have been a new product on the Chinese strawberry market in recent years. They have attracted attention because the color and taste are different from traditional red strawberries, and the market price is relatively high.
"Because of their special appearance, white strawberries have their own attention 'traffic,' and e-commerce helps to open up the market. At present, domestic white strawberry cultivation is still at a stage of low production capacity," Ms. Yu Zhenzhen from Yantai Xiangyiyuan Ecological Agriculture Development Co., Ltd. told Freshplaza.
"The white strawberries we plant are of the 'Mengzhiying' variety, which was successfully cultivated and developed by the Ningbo Academy of Agricultural Sciences in 2022. It is characterized by a perfect fruit shape, delicate flesh, and unique fragrance when bitten into. To ensure quality, we choose organic planting methods, use organic fertilizers, and do not use chemical fertilizers such as fruit expanders and chemical hormones. The taste and shelf life of white strawberries grown in this way are significantly better. Although the price is higher, customer feedback and repurchase rates are good."
Talking about the current white strawberry market, Yu said that the domestic target group of white strawberries is small, the planting area is small, the output is small, and the price is slightly high. Many farmers fear that it will be hard to sell, so they dare not plant. At the end of the sales, these white strawberries have an uneven taste and quality, but the prices are generally relatively high, making the market unwilling to pay.
"Some white strawberry varieties have undergone major market changes this year. Taking 'Angel 8,' one of the mainstream varieties with higher yields, as an example, this season's production is higher than before, but the taste is uneven, and there are immature green fruits on the market, which makes the market react poorly and has a great impact on its selling price. For example, in March of previous years, the purchase price of this variety was close to RMB 60/kg, but the purchase price in the same period this year has dropped to RMB 16-34/kg."
Regarding the development of white strawberries in our own base, Yu introduced: "This year, the base has increased the planting area and increased promotion at the same time. Due to the organic method of planting without chemical fertilizers, our white strawberries grow and ripen slowly, and the output is low. The price is half or even double that of other products. However, due to the superior quality and taste, the market response is good. Although the price is high, the audience is stable. 2022 is our first year of planting, and customer feedback has been positive, so a lot of production will begin this fall. The production season of white strawberries is from November to June of the following year."
Yantai Xiangyiyuan Ecological Agriculture Development Co., Ltd. has its own brand of white strawberry 'Nara's Berry.' The company has its own base of 0.4 hectares, a cooperative base of 3.33 hectares, and its own processing factories. Sales channels include e-commerce platforms such as Tmall, JD.com, and group buying, as well as stalls in wholesale markets and group buying for corporate welfare. "White strawberries grown with organic fertilizers have high hardness and are durable in storage. They can be kept fresh for 7-10 days. We have cooperative stall merchants who are sending them to Hong Kong, Dubai, and other places."