Fruit suppliers, marketers and retailers could achieve much closer engagement with shoppers if they used existing technology in a completely new manner.
That's according to packaging specialist Ilip, which is preparing to present new research into the retail presentation of fresh produce, in particular avocados, at next week's Macfrut trade exhibition in Rimini, Italy.
Chief among the report's findings, says the group’s business development and marketing director Roberto Zanichelli, will be the revelation that existing technology is not being used in the most effective way.
Details of the research remain under wraps until Macfrut itself, but as Zanichelli explains the repurposed technology forms the basis of Ilip’s new patented product Smart Ripe.
“Through a new and unprecedented application of an existing technology, Smart Ripe is able to offer information on the product that is useful not just to the consumer, but also to the point of sale operator,” he says.
“It has been successfully tested on avocados, but its application can be extended virtually to any fruit. At Macfrut we will explain in detail how Smart Ripe works and to what needs the consumer and distribution can respond.”
The report itself has been produced by Professor Guido Cristini and Professor Silvia Bellini from the University of Parma.
“The research paints a complete picture,” Zanichelli adds, “so we can understand the potential this application has to improve service at point of sale.”
