Seen and heard at Fruit Logistica 2023
BERLIN — Produce industry players from around the globe have gathered at Messe Berlin for Fruit Logistica 2023, Feb. 8-10, where the latest in technology and automation, sustainability and packaging, new varieties and timeless favorites are all under one massive roof.
Energy and enthusiasm are high at this show, which by all accounts, has come back to pre-pandemic crowds.
“Traffic has been steady,” said Dave Rooke, senior vice president of sales for Wonderful Citrus. “The last couple of years post-COVID were a little lighter in comparison.”
Rooke said Fruit Logistica is a show that is “very much about exports.” In addition to showcasing the company’s seedless lemons, Mexican limes and Wonderful Halos, Rooke is letting his customers know that Texas grapefruit has made a comeback from the Valentine’s Day freeze in 2021.
USA Pears and Washington apples are also meeting with Fruit Logistica attendees in the Americas hall, where Jeff Correa, international marketing director for Pear Bureau Northwest, agrees “traffic is back up to pre-pandemic levels. It’s busy."
Given the short crop of pears and Washington apples this year, Correa is focusing on the upcoming season. “As a trade association, this year has been a very Western Hemisphere-focused crop,” he said, noting that 70% of the crop was sold in the U.S. “The [pear] crop was our smallest in 25 years.”
In anticipation of the next season, the Pear Bureau is continuing its social media outreach to educate and excite consumers. “We want to show that pears can add pizzazz to every day,” Correa said. Informing consumers about how to select a ripe pear is equally important.
The International Fresh Produce Association has offered its booth as a home base for its many members in attendance. With a year under its belt as IFPA, an organization born of the United Fresh and Produce Marketing Association union, the team is at Fruit Logistica to support its members from across the globe.
“Fruit Logistica gives me an opportunity to talk with key allies — members from 40 different countries,” said Robert Guenther, IFPA chief public policy officer. He’s in Berlin to meet face to face with international members and learn about the key issues and challenges they face.
“I want to know what keeps them up at night,” said Guenther, who adds that from transport and logistics to labor, many industry stakeholders are facing the same issues around the world. IFPA is also focused on helping companies with commodities break into new markets.
“Our whole goal as an association is to bring our members together — to meet them where they are,” said IFPA Chief Membership Officer Miriam Wolk.
Focusing on its global influence is among IFPA’s plan for 2023, said Wolk, adding that sustainability; following up on its White House commitments; diversity, equity and inclusion and bolstering underrepresented business partners; and reaching the consumer directly are also focal points.
Tamara Muruetagoiena, IFPA director of sustainability, has also made the journey to Berlin to help international members navigate through the multitude of sustainability standards and requirements, which differ from retailer to retailer. Muruetagoiena says this is a challenge in the U.S. and Europe.
“They all sell to one another. The market for fresh produce is very global,” said Muruetagoiena, who is working to move the global produce industry toward universal and clearly defined sustainability standards.
With this in mind, last year IFPA joined the Consumer Goods Forum Sustainable Supply Chain Initiative, a coalition committed to building trust in consumer goods.
The machinery and technology halls at Fruit Logistica have a pulse all their own, and Vonnie Estes, IFPA vice president of food and agtech innovation, is combing them for the latest trends in tech as well as potential candidates for IFPA’s accelerator program.
The BayWa booth is giving Fruit Logistica a taste of Envy apples.
“In my career in produce, it’s most exciting to sell something proprietary, unique and delicious to the customer,” said Vince Lopes, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Envy Marketing. He has found that and more with the Envy apple.
“Envy is the best eating proprietary apple and the fastest growing club apple,” Lopes said. He also sees high consumer acceptance of the fruit and a growing fanbase.
“We hear from consumers who say, ‘I finally tried an Envy apple. I’ll never eat another kind of apple again.’ There’s a lot of energy and excitement around Envy, and the growers are contributing to it. They’re excited to bring it to market. It’s a labor of love,” he said.
And as retailers get more excited about Envy, Lopes is hoping to see more space devoted to the apple in-store.
“My vision is that we’re going to take over the endcap and waterfall displays as well as more secondary displays,” Lopes said.
“This apple is not only great fresh,” he said, taking a bite of an Envy apple in the booth. “It’s also a great pie apple. It holds up beautifully.”
A topic of conversation at nearly every booth, sustainability is a key theme at Fruit Logitica 2023.
“Sustainability is really in our DNA,” said Danielle Willems of Westfalia Fruit, which grows, sources and ripens avocados. Willems points to the company’s founder, Dr. Hans Merensky, who started the South African Westfalia to restore Westfalia Estate’s agricultural, horticultural and forestry resources and give the community jobs.
Today, the company continues to focus on sustainability, including sustainable packaging. It has introduced cotton-based packaging in France, where plastic packaging is banned.
Westfalia will launch the packaging, which Director of Business Development David Fausset says is “even better than paper,” in the U.S. in 2023.
The dizzying array of certifications is also on the minds of the Westfalia team.
“There are so many levels of certification,” Willems said. “Sustainability goes beyond how we grow produce. It’s about how we care for people — from the seed to the store, we need to be sustainable and do right by people.”
