India’s premier business event explores the rapid rise of quick commerce, shifting consumer preferences and growth in demand for premium imported offerings
India continues to shine as a high-potential market for the global fresh produce business. With a growing middle class, increasing health consciousness, and new demand for premium fruits such as avocados and blueberries, both India’s import sector and its domestic production are rising to the challenge.
This was the message delivered to some 300 key players from across the industry who gathered in Mumbai’s Trident Nariman Point Hotel for the annual Fresh Produce India event last week.
The two-day event, organised by Fruitnet with official partner Asia Fruit Logistica, took place on 3-4 April 2025. It featured a packed content programme of presentations and panels within the bustling expo hall which played host to tastings, networking and discovery. Day two included exclusive curated tours with delegates visiting a range of key wholesale, distribution and retail points.
The first morning kicked off with a restorative yoga session led by Ira Trivedi on the hotel grounds, followed by a healthy breakfast spread curated by celebrity chef Amrita Raichand and sponsored by Avocados Australia and Summerfruit Australia.
Quick commerce boom creates new opportunities
Sachin Khurana of QuikRelations opened the content programme with a presentation on the rise of India’s quick commerce revolution.
“[It takes] anywhere from ten to 15 minutes to deliver – at times less than ten minutes,” Khurana said. “And that has changed the way we are shopping in our country.”
According to Khurana, with the quick commerce service, shoppers are more likely to shop spontaneously multiple times a day than make a dedicated weekly shopping trip which has created demand for products that didn’t previously exist – including for exotic imported fruit.
“The way quick commerce has been able to tap that market and create demand that did not exist before, I think that’s where we’ve seen the biggest change,” he said.
Khurana was then joined by a panel of top q-commerce players including Zepto’s Ramlingha Rajoo, Swiggy Instamart’s Raunak Shetty and Blinkit’s Sarthak Jain to discuss the future growth opportunities and challenges for the sector, providing insights that were helpful for the entire chain.
Elsewhere on the programme, industry leaders unpacked India’s rise as production hub for fruits like berries, dragon fruit and avocados, spoke on how to build an apple brand in India, and explored case studies on cutting-edge technologies with the potential to shake up the industry. The closing session spotlighted South Africa’s fast-growing role as a supplier of imported fruits to India. The panel discussion highlighted exciting potential for established categories as well as emerging products such as plums, avocados, berries, mangoes and lychees.
Fresh Produce India’s content programme took place in the same space as the business networking expo. Delegates were able to connect with industry leaders, hold meetings in the exclusive business lounge powered by Austrade, discover innovative technologies, and sample product lines from around the world.
Fresh Produce India Awards celebrate excellence
This year’s event also staged the launch of the inaugural Fresh Produce India Awards, presented by Fruitnet to recognise outstanding achievement in India’s fresh fruit and vegetable business.
Tamil Nadu-based greengrocer chain KPN Farm Fresh scooped the India Business Award. The India Marketing Campaign Award went to the World Avocado Organisation (WAO), and Sahyadri Farms was presented with the India Impact Award for its pioneering role in enabling smallholder farmers and advancing India’s fresh produce industry.
Tours provide first-hand fresh insights
Day Two offered exclusive curated tours, starting at Mumbai’s bustling Vashi wholesale market where stallholders were busy unpacking arrivals of India’s new-season mangoes. At the next stop delegates gained exclusive behind-the-scenes access to Suri Agro Fresh’s state-of-the-art distribution facility, touring cold rooms, packing lines and being treated to a delicious chef-prepared vegetarian lunch spread. The final stop had delegates visiting one of Reliance Retail’s premium Freshpik formats with a guided tour of the retail space including product sampling.
