Mr Fruitness, the superhero character designed to encourage young people in Germany, Austria, Poland, the UK and Sweden to eat more fruit, has zoomed into Fruit Logistica this year alongside the so-called 'queen of pears', PGI Emilia Romagna Abate Fetel.
A premium Italian pear sold in Germany, it tops the production table as Italy's highest volume pear variety, with the annual Italian output of 380,000 tonnes accounting for almost 100 per cent of Abate Pears produced in Europe.
Emilia Romagna, in the central eastern part of the country, is the highest producing region.
The fruit was the focus of discussion at Fruit Logistica in Berlin, where it was top of the bill at 'A Celebration of Abate Fetel - the Queen of Pears' held at the Piazza Italia stand.
Intended for fruit industry journalists and operators, the conference commenced with the opening address of Cogeca president Paolo Bruni, who touched on production, trends and the properties of Emilia Romagna Abate Fetel pears.
'More than ever before, organised producers are up against a very important challenge,' said Paolo Bruni the Cogeca President stated. “In order to address the high output and the drop in consumption across Europe, we need to find more effective ways of promoting a pear the likes of the Abate Fetel, considered the crème de la crème of international pear production, given that it is also known as 'the queen of pears'.'
In discussing prospects for fresh produce promotion in Europe, Luciano Trentini, president of the European Commission's Promotion Consultative Group, highlighted how important PDO and PGI-marked products will be in upcoming promotional events, also explaining how PGI Emilia Romagna pear is one of several products that are well-suited to advertising campaigns targeting a Europe-wide or international market.
The workshop ended with a cocktail event celebrating the unique taste of the star of the show, and an exhibition from an acrobatic barman who mixed up tasty Abate Fetel-based drinks. A 7m-high giant inflatable Abate Fetel pear also welcomed visitors every day at the South entrance to the Berlin exhibition ground.
The Fruit Logistica exhibition is a key part of the communication campaign launched in recent months under the aegis of the 'Fruitness, enjoy it!' project co-financed by the European Union, Italian government and CSO, the Italian association for marketing and promotion of fruit and vegetables.
To promote the presence of PGI Emilia Romagna Abate Fetel pear at the German event, product samples were delivered to a prime selection of Berlin restaurants, an advertising campaign was launched on web-based publications and Germany's top food writers were sent a free box of pears and the chance to taste one of the finest gems of Italian fruit production.
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