Fruit Logistica is the global showcase for the fruit and vegetable sector, a fair appointment that any company wishing to enter the international or even European market cannot ignore. The constant increase, edition by edition, of exhibitors and professional visitors proves it: in the 2017 edition 3,077 exhibitors from 84 Countries were present, and over 76,000 trade visitors from 130 Countries. Basically, it is the core of the international fair system for fruit and vegetables, the reference point for some continental showcases corresponding to as many macro-markets: PMA for America, Asia Fruit Logistica for Asia, Fruit Attraction Madrid for Europe, Macfrut and FRUIT & VEG Innovation for Italy.
“This event, thanks to the very high presence of buyers and international operators, can represent an interesting potential driving force for business and players of the Italian fruit and vegetable system, both through the consolidation of pre-existing commercial relationships, and thanks to the possibility of acquiring new customers and prospects to cultivate” say Salvo Garipoli and Raffaello Bernardi of SGMarketing. “In three days it is possible to plan a profitable business agenda that would otherwise require considerable time, without underestimating the possibility of meeting new and qualified interlocutors from the five continents, encouraging the development of the long-awaited internationalization processes. These processes are essential for such a Country as Italy, which produces fruit and vegetables in quantities structurally superior to the absorption capacity of the internal market”.
In addition, Fruit Logistica is also a valid context for the presentation of new products, thanks to the natural propensity to scouting expressed by professional visitors. “These operators are increasingly looking for tools that help qualify the offer so that it can be able to interpret at the best the new consumption trends, strongly oriented to fresh and very fresh products; on the other hand, it is important to meet qualified suppliers who can ensure continuity of supplies beyond the seasonal or national origin (this is important, for example, for such products categories as apples, pears, small fruits, and exotic fruits). This is concrete way to know, know each other, and share successful experiences and peculiar consumption dynamics. This international dimension should be cultivated year by year and is useful for identifying the best productive and commercial paths to consciously meet the needs of the contemporary market”.
A season complicated by structural productive contingencies and exogenous causes is coming. It is combined with a context of growing consumption of fruit and vegetables at a global level and with the need for a more organised approach to the category: in fact, thanks to product and process innovation, the companies in this sector are faced with consumers who are less and less willing to recognise themselves in paths of unclear value and that are not in line with the real needs of purchase and consumption.
In budget constraint time, participation in trade fairs is a choice to be made prudently. Considering the results for fruit and vegetables, today Fruit Logistica, in the ‘menu’ offered at European level, certainly still represents the ‘main dish’.
