Turning fresh strawberry data into stronger merchant partnerships

Naturipe Farms, the world’s second-largest berry supplier, saw an opportunity to grow premium strawberry sales at Walmart but needed to better understand customer demand and barriers to growth. By combining market data with Scintilla insights, Naturipe identified ways to expand distribution, improve availability, and attract new customers.

The opportunity: Capturing untapped demand for premium strawberries

Premium strawberries were gaining traction across the market, but Walmart wasn't capturing their full share of demand. While Walmart's average weekly strawberry volume per store exceeded the rest of the market by 234%, Naturipe Farms' Mighty Reds lagged by nearly 48%, according to syndicated data.

For a seasonal product with a limited selling window, every missed sale mattered. Naturipe saw an opportunity to close the gap by expanding distribution and improving the availability of premium strawberries, as well as attracting new customers. The challenge was proving that Mighty Reds could generate incremental category growth rather than simply shifting sales from conventional strawberries.

The approach: Connecting market performance with shopper insights

Using Shopper Behavior, Naturipe found that 31% of Mighty Reds purchasers were new to Walmart's strawberry category and hadn’t made any strawberry purchases in the previous 52 weeks. Additionally, 21% of Mighty Reds sales were incremental to the category in stores where they were sold. This demonstrated the product's ability to attract new customers and generate additional sales rather than cannibalize conventional strawberries.

Naturipe then found that 21.6% of Mighty Reds online orders were substituted with another strawberry item. Only 75% of Mighty Reds orders were fulfilled with the exact product requested, compared with 92% for conventional one-pound strawberries. Customers were still getting strawberries—just not the Mighty Reds they originally chose. Mighty Reds were priced $4.46 higher than the substituted one-pound strawberry item, highlighting the potential sales value of improving availability.

With Naturipe fulfilling orders in full, supply wasn't the issue. Instead, the team identified gaps in forecasting and replenishment. Working with Walmart’s replenishment team, Naturipe increased forecasts to better align inventory with demand, with the goal of improving availability and reducing substitutions.

Understanding what drives premium purchases

Using Customer Perception to survey buyers prior to purchase, Naturipe discovered that shoppers anticipated Mighty Reds would deliver better flavor (56%), freshness (52%), and quality (51%). The research also highlighted the importance of the product's packaging, a single layer with the strawberries facing the same direction, which reinforced perceptions of premium quality and freshness.

These insights helped Naturipe better understand what motivates shoppers to trade up and how product presentation could support premium sales.

The results: Expanding availability drives triple-digit sales growth

By expanding distribution 39% and extending weeks on sale 50%, Naturipe and Walmart drove a 236% year-over-year increase in Mighty Reds dollar sales. Sales per store grew 142%, while units sold per store per week increased 44%, demonstrating strong customer demand beyond the expanded footprint.

Combining third-party data with Scintilla insights helped Naturipe validate incremental category growth, identify availability gaps, and build a case for further expansion. The analysis also helped Naturipe and Walmart identify forecasting opportunities to better meet demand and reduce product substitutions.

Looking ahead to 2027, the team plans to deepen Customer Perception research, explore opportunities across other premium berries, like blueberries and blackberries, and evaluate additional shelf space for Mighty Reds.