"Strawberry of love" goes viral on the internet and boosts prices by 35%

The new social media craze, the love strawberry, has become a sensation among consumers and has caused a real "side effect" in agribusiness. According to data released by CEASA/MS (Central Supply Centers of Mato Grosso do Sul), the demand for the fruit has skyrocketed in recent days, directly reflecting in the movement of the market and the prices charged by wholesalers. Only on the morning of this Thursday (24), the Casa do Morango branch at CEASA/MS sold about 5,000 boxes, each with 4 trays, totaling 20,000 strawberry trays—a volume higher than that recorded on traditionally busy dates, such as Mother's Day and Easter. The manager of the unit, Fernando Higa, explains that the increase in demand reached 50%, mainly driven by the viral success of the dessert on social media. "Both supermarkets and the end consumer are coming after the strawberry. We already noticed a slight growth last week, but this week the demand exploded," reported Higa. With the boom in sales, the effects ...