Asia Fruit Logistica preview: Rest of Europe

CSO Italy

Leading market development agency CSO Italy once again hosts a number of Italy’s most important fresh produce companies on its stand at this year’s Asia Fruit Logistica. This year its stand will be home to companies including Apofruit Italia, European Fruit Group, F.lli Clementi, Infia, Mazzoni, Nava, Oranfrizer, Origine Group, Rivoira Group, RK Growers, and Tagliani Vivai. Several of those are involved in The European Art of Taste, a three-year promotional campaign co-funded by CSO Italy and the EU to raise awareness and appreciation of fruit and vegetables produced in Europe. The project is aimed at Asian markets, especially China, Japan, Taiwan and Thailand.

Jingold

Kiwifruit marketer Jingold returns to Hong Kong for this year’s Asia Fruit Logistica on the back of a notable increase in production (see full story, p159). According to Federico Milanese, the company’s marketing manager, the event remains an essential appointment for its expanding business. “These meetings will be crucial for outlining strategies for the upcoming campaign and exploring potential collaborations with new buyers,” he tells Asiafruit. The group aims to highlight its leading role in supplying red kiwifruit to markets in the region. According to Milanese, the company expects to expand its sales of the product by almost one-third in 2024.

B&B Frutta

One of Italy’s leading fruit exporters, Verona-based apple specialist B&B Frutta is a market leader in the supply of Granny Smith and generates most of its business outside of Europe, in markets including the Middle East, North Africa, Latin America and Asia. According to its chief executive, Loredano Brentegani, it was also the first Italian company to export apples using blockchain to record and track its shipments. Seven years ago, it opened a brand new packhouse in Zevio, to the south-east of Verona, which in recent years has served as a platform for further growth.

Rivoira Group

Rivoira Giovanni & Figli and sister company RK Growers will use the event to raise awareness of the Kikoka Kiwi Consortium (Europe), which was set up in March 2024 to manage production and marketing of Kikokà, the name for two protected varieties of yellow-fleshed kiwifruit developed and owned by Italy’s University of Udine. The group brings together 11 partners and 1,550ha of licensed cultivated area. A further 200ha are expected to be planted in 2024. It recently elected Andrea Peviani of Peviani as its first president and appointed Fabio Zanesco as executive director, effective from 1 September.

Planasa

Planasa’s acquisition of Yunnan Meiming Agriculture last year signalled its intention to become a serious player in China’s burgeoning blueberry market. As well as continuing to promote its extensive portfolio of blueberry varieties, led by Blue Madeira, Blue Manila, Blue Maldiva and Blue Malibú, the company is now developing its raspberry and strawberry offering. “We are very satisfied to have become the largest company of patented varieties in terms of planting area in China, with more than 2,000ha planted,” says Jeffrey Fan, managing director of Planasa China. “Asia Fruit Logistica is a great opportunity to continue strengthening our brand image in the Asian market, showcasing our genetics and nursery capacity, as well as our commitment to providing technical support to the region’s growers.”

Bionest

Bionest, Spain’s biggest producer of organic strawberries, will be at Asia Fruit Logistica to showcase its entire range of organic berries. This includes new varieties with a longer shelf-life, allowing the company to cut food waste and reach new markets such as Asia, says commercial manager José Manuel Rodríguez. “We will also present a heat-sealable cardboard punnet that provides numerous advantages when packaging berries,” he tells Asiafruit. “The packs reduce the use of plastic by 98 per cent, improve the visibility and versatility of the product and allow for better storage. We see Asia as one of the most important markets worldwide and want to continue to develop our brand throughout the continent,” Rodríguez says.

Pink Lady Europe

Sales of Pink Lady and PinKids apples rose 18 per cent year-on-year to reach 211,000 tonnes. According to Pink Lady Europe, these results have been made possible thanks to solid partnerships with retailers and continued collective efforts to boost the category. “900 operations to promote the brand were carried out with trade marketing support tailored as closely as possible to the needs of retailers, thereby enabling them to perfectly control the positioning of Pink Lady in stores,” the company says. Advertising in the media focused on promoting the brand’s values along with influencer marketing strategies, helped to generate over 300m contacts around the “What will Pink Lady do for you today?” brand platform.

Vlam

Vlam, Flanders’ Agricultural Marketing Board, will host six Belgian exporters: BelOrta, Belgian Fruit Valley, Devos Group, Wouters Fruithandel, Fresh Fruit Service Europe and Elite Food, all with representatives present for commercial talks on the exhibition floor. A professional chef will be on site to prepare snacks made from Belgian fruit and vegetables. “Products from Belgium are popular,” says Hilde Peeters, export project coordinator. “We see a lot of pears being exported, and chicory is also important as a niche product within the vegetable category. From the reactions we had during the last edition, we can see that there are also opportunities for specialty products, such as strawberries, tomatoes and celeriac. So Vlam remains committed to the Asian market.”

Sinclair

Established in 1982, Sinclair provides a full management service for the labelling of fruit and vegetables. The company has exhibited at Asia Fruit Logistica for a number of years and considers it an important show for meeting customers and networking. This year Sinclair has a demonstration labelling machine on its stand and will also be showcasing its latest home-compostable label from its compostable range. The company says the label offers superior application performance and meets many of the legislative composting requirements, as well as composting standards AS 5810 and NF T51 800. Sinclair currently operates in more than 40 markets globally and says it would like to help packers and growers realise the full potential of having fruit labels on their loose produce.

Angus Soft Fruits

Angus Soft Fruits is a leading supplier of berries to UK, European, Middle Eastern and Asian retailers. The Scottish company breeds, grows and packs berries around the world to ensure consistent supply of the best-tasting berries to its customers. This is its third year at Asia Fruit Logistica, and the supplier is eager to meet retailers and wholesalers to expand supply in Asia. Angus Soft Fruits will be showcasing its Good Natured Berries brand, which includes strawberry and raspberry varieties from its exclusive premium-tier AVA range. Angus Soft Fruits is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2024.

BerryWorld

BerryWorld says it is thrilled to unveil its best-selling blueberry and strawberry offering which has been carefully crafted for the Asian market. “For eco-conscious consumers,” says BerryWorld sales manager Stefan Viljoen (pictured below), “we are delighted to present our premium blueberry range, wrapped in sustainable packaging that showcases the highest-quality, award-winning blueberries. This premium offering is also available for organic and jumbo blueberries, catering to a broad range of consumer tastes and preferences”. He says BerryWorld’s access to a pipeline of leading varieties of strawberries, blueberries and raspberries means there is always something new and interesting knocking on the door, ready to excite customers and give them the edge in the market. This demonstrates BerryWorld’s commitment to driving innovation and excellence according to Viljoen. “We are streamlining our brand image to highlight the freshness and quality of our products. This bold new look will debut globally next season, showcasing our dedication to continuous improvement and superior customer experience,” he notes. “We are targeting Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Hong Kong in Asia and in the Middle East the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman.”