With constant reminders that the banks have locked up their strong rooms if anyone wants to borrow any cash, and with profit margins increasingly hard to come by, the Re:fresh conference last week must have been like a shot in the arm for delegates.

It was not just about the evening awards celebrating industry excellence, which are now firmly embedded in the trade calendar. It was rather the upbeat and encouraging content provided by the speakers earlier in the day.

Representing the various spheres of production, wholesaling, distribution, foodservice and retailing, there was proof positive that often when times are hard the produce industry seems to be able to pull more than a few rabbits out of the hat.

While everyone agrees there is no ready formula to increase sales, and more relevantly to increase profits at the same time, there are points where all sectors have much in common.

Fruit and vegetables make up a seasonal commodity market with hundreds of different products, influenced first by the weather in terms of production, and then final customer choice on the shelf.

It has always been highly competitive, and even more so now, reflected in the constant bombardment of messages aimed at the public to buy.

What was equally intriguing were the concepts of what might be expected in the future.

Some suggestions were, on the face of it, more bizarre than others, such as the idea that a good place to retail fresh fruit might be in the twilight hours when clubbers are returning home.

Perhaps someone might take up the opportunity on the basis that a plateful of fruit salad is the ideal remedy for an approaching hangover after a night out!

Then there is the whole communication revolution. How far is the time away when people, categorised by age, sex, spending power, and much more, are individually contacted on Twitter - hopefully by their own choice - to remind them that their favourite apples or oranges are on sale in the supermarket.

Perhaps the most telling observation was that success, regardless of the size of the organisation, tends to have far less opportunity to survive for long in such a fast-moving world.

Ironically there were also signs that the old values of personal contact, service and enthusiasm are being found down among the layers of modern management and being rediscovered in the modern world. -