With the Re:fresh conference scheduled for next week and a full house expected, I am put in mind of a question which I was regularly asked every year when the conference season was in full swing. What can we hope to take home from this conference?

My answer, as then, is still the same. It depends what the individual chooses to take from it.

Thirty years ago, there were three key totally UK-oriented events on the calendar, not counting seasonal presentations for Cape, Outspan, Jaffa, Carmel and HGF panellists, among others.

Back then, the Retail Fruit Trade Federation comprised more than 25,000 fruiterers and greengrocers, who still represented a substantial section of the industry. The organisation’s three-day gathering often became part business, part circus. And there was plenty of promotional cash floating around, provided by the marketing organisations which helped subsidise the cost.

The conference platform was used to unveil plans which mainly centred on providing copious volumes of point-of-sale material for independent shops, and supporting wholesalers with similar activities. And from time to time, suppliers even got bloody noses during raucous question and answer sessions, when fruiterers freely and publicly criticised as well as praised everything from fruit quality and packaging to overall marketing strategy.

Before the birth of the Fresh Produce Consortium, wholesalers, many of whom also belonged to the Fruit Importers’ Association, arranged their own, less contentious event. The annual debate usually included a plea for higher commission rates, and the search for a formula which would rationalise the system widely used by producers of demanding bankers’ guarantees to cover the value of produce sent. The latter concept may appear sound, but there were times when a successful wholesale business with an increasing number of senders could actually find it difficult to cover the level of credit required.

Finally, the arrival of the big retail battalions and the emergence of UK producer organisations inevitably meant that the Produce Packaging & Marketing Association’s gathering became the jewel in the conference season crown. Historically held at Stratford-upon-Avon, attendance used to reach a point where hotel space was as limited as cherry supply in April. Supermarket buyers, more abundant than they are today, were all on parade, and everyone was out to glean a bigger share of the pie.

But in my view, getting the best out of any event remains the same. It is about taking time to understand how the rest of the industry works, and looking for good ideas which will expand the business. Next week, we will see that putting buyers and sellers in the same room is far from being a recipe for disaster. In fact, with an ever-rising number of complaints about how industry relationships are far less personal today, it should go some way to redressing the balance and showing that face-to-face contact is still the best way to conduct business.