Fresh blueberries continue to gain traction among young consumers in China, who see them as a convenient and healthy snack option. In fact, blueberries have even developed an online nickname, "lan pengyou," which translates to "blue friends."

With the October-April Chilean blueberry season in China at its height in January and February, the Chilean Blueberry Committee of the Chilean Association of Fruit Exporters (ASOEX) has been working hard to capitalize on the popularity of blueberries among this young and tech-savvy population. demographic. An important aspect of this effort is widespread cooperation with social media influencers covering topics such as food, parenting, and lifestyle to tell stories about #BlueberriesFromChile.

In words and photos, these influencers focus on the natural flavor and rich nutritional value of Chilean blueberries while driving consumers to purchase online through JD.com and other e-commerce platforms. Posts about Chilean blueberries have attracted more than 50 million views and 26.000 comments on the Sina Weibo microblogging platform this season.

According to data from the Chilean Blueberry Committee, at the end of week 6, Chilean blueberry exports for the season stood at 99.842 tons. Although the peak of weekly export volumes from Chile has passed, Chilean blueberries continue to arrive in the Chinese market.

Due to the relatively high export volume from Chile to Asian markets at the beginning of the season, Asia has become comparatively more important as a destination for Chilean blueberries, accounting for 11% of the total export volume. The total amount of blueberries shipped to the Chinese market reached 6.607 tons, which represents 6,6% of Chile's total exports and exceeds the volume of the entire 2020/21 season.