Cherries Market Opportunities and Strategies to 2033

This report describes and explains the cherries market and covers 2018-2023, termed the historic period, and 2023-2028, 2033F termed the forecast period. The report evaluates the market across each region and for the major economies within each region.

The global cherries market reached a value of nearly $58.15 billion in 2023, having grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.62% since 2018. The market is expected to grow from $58.15 billion in 2023 to $86.76 billion in 2028 at a rate of 8.33%. The market is then expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.50% from 2028 and reach $124.54 billion in 2033.

Growth in the historic period resulted from increased disposable income, increased consumption of bakery and dairy products, rise in demand for cherries in the beverage and juice industries and greater emphasis on natural sweeteners and low-calorie alternatives. Factors that negatively affected growth in the historic period was high labor costs in cherry farming.

Going forward, increasing urban populations, expansion of the e-commerce industry, rising demand for plant-based diets and vegan products, increasing health awareness and demand for nutritious fruits and favorable government initiatives will drive the growth. Factor that could hinder the growth of the cherries market in the future include limited shelf life of fresh cherries.

The cherries market is segmented by type into sweet and sour. The sweet market was the largest segment of the cherries market segmented by type, accounting for 96.68% or $56.22 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the sweet segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the cherries market segmented by type, at a CAGR of 8.36% during 2023-2028.

The cherries market is segmented by varieties into bing, rainier, lambert, lapins and other varieties. The bing market was the largest segment of the cherries market segmented by varieties, accounting for 34.70% or $20.17 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the rainier segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the cherries market segmented by varieties, at a CAGR of 9.48% during 2023-2028.

The cherries market is segmented by distribution channel into supermarkets or hypermarkets, convenience stores, online and other distribution channel. The supermarkets or hypermarkets market was the largest segment of the cherries market segmented by distribution channel, accounting for 45.30% or $26.34 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the online segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the cherries market segmented by distribution channel, at a CAGR of 10.32% during 2023-2028.

The cherries market is segmented by application into direct consumption, cakes and bakery, candy and snacks, jams and juice, alcoholic beverages and other applications. The direct consumption market was the largest segment of the cherries market segmented by application, accounting for 30.93% or $17.98 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the alcoholic beverages segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the cherries market segmented by application, at a CAGR of 10.34% during 2023-2028.

Asia Pacific was the largest region in the cherries market, accounting for 37.89% or $22.03 billion of the total in 2023. It was followed by North America, Western Europe and then the other regions. Going forward, the fastest-growing regions in the cherries market will be North America and Asia Pacific where growth will be at CAGRs of 9.32% and 8.98% respectively. These will be followed by Eastern Europe and South America where the markets are expected to grow at CAGRs of 8.05% and 8.00% respectively.

The global cherries market is highly fragmented, with a large number of small players in the market. The top ten competitors in the market made up to 2.47% of the total market in 2023. The market fragmentation can be attributed to the presence of few small players in different geographies. Dole Plc was the largest competitor with a 0.77% share of the market, followed by Del Monte Fresh Produce Company with 0.43%, Gebbers Farms with 0.38%, Stemilt Growers with 0.28%, Washington Fruit Growers with 0.13%, Columbia Fruit Packers Inc. with 0.11%, Borton Fruit with 0.10%, Unifrutti Group with 0.10%, Rainier Fruit Co. with 0.10% and Chelan Fresh with 0.07%.

The top opportunities in the cherries market segmented by type will arise in the sweet segment, which will gain $27.76 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the cherries market segmented by distribution channel will arise in the supermarkets or hypermarkets segment, which will gain $12.61 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the cherries market segmented by application will arise in the direct consumption segment, which will gain $7.93 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the cherries market segmented by varieties will arise in the bing segment, which will gain $10.76 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The cherries market size will gain the most in China at $6.26 billion.

Market-trend-based strategies for the cherries market include leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) for precise fruit sorting, expanding their confectionery lines with allergy-friendly, on-the-go formats, developing premium fruit varieties, investing in advanced infrastructure and developing compact electric scissor lifts with advanced technology, leveraging advanced automation to streamline processing, handle diverse varieties and enhance sorting, grading and packaging precision and combining classic alcohol bases with popular flavors like cola and fruit infusions.

Player-adopted strategies in the cherries market include focus on strengthening its market position through strategic partnership.

To take advantage of the opportunities, the analyst recommends the cherries companies to focus on Ai-driven innovation to enhance efficiency and quality, focus on allergy-friendly, on-the-go product formats, focus on premium varieties and innovation to drive growth, focus on infrastructure upgrades and innovative packaging solutions, focus on automation and packaging innovation, focus on product innovation and diversified flavor offerings, focus on the sweet segment to drive growth, focus on the rainier market for growth opportunities, expand in emerging markets, focus on expanding distribution channels, focus on competitive pricing strategies, focus on targeted digital marketing, focus on seasonal and regional promotions, focus on supermarkets and hypermarkets for cherries companies and focus on targeting end-users in cakes and bakery.