Fruit Attraction has become increasingly important in recent years and is now regarded as the most important platform for the southern European and Spanish-speaking fruit industry. Even though the number of exhibitors from German-speaking countries is still limited, the trade fair has proven to be a great addition or even an alternative to Fruit Logistica in Berlin. In line with the high importance of Spanish imported goods on the German market, numerous German importers and wholesalers come to Madrid every year for an exchange with both customers and suppliers in one place. Conversely, a modest amount of fruit and vegetables are also exported to Spain. FreshPlaza.de summarised the comments and expectations of numerous participants from the DACH region.
Evaluation of the past overseas season
One of the new exhibitors this year is the Hamburg-based fruit importer Cobana. "We had the opportunity to develop a modular stand concept with a similar design to the one in Berlin," says Co-Managing Director Patrick Sperl. "What's more, Fruit Attraction is now almost more important than Berlin from a pure importer's standpoint, which in turn is due to the good timing. In October, many overseas products are close to the end of the season. This means that the season is still fresh on your mind and can therefore be analysed accordingly to make adjustments regarding the next year. These constructive discussions based on experience from the previous season take place primarily in Madrid. This has already prompted other German fruit importers to expand their trade fair presence in Madrid. For us, this is initially a pilot project: we also have just under half the stand space as in Berlin." According to Sperl, customer and supplier acquisition will be less of a focus. "For us, Madrid is the ideal platform to talk to existing customers and suppliers at the same time." (Hall 10, Stand A25)
The ELO eG team at Fruit Attraction 2023: Jens Wiele, Katharina Ripke and Josef Lübberding.
New potentials
For the northern German company ELO from Vechta-Langförden, Fruit Attraction is also the second most important fruit trade fair after Fruit Logistica in Berlin. "For us, the trade fair is first and foremost a central point of contact for acquiring new customers and, of course, maintaining existing customers in Southern Europe. It is important for us to engage in personal dialogue and to continue to explore new potentials, as we are always interested in establishing and expanding new partnerships and gaining a foothold in the European market." ELO has been able to gradually expand its position on the Iberian Peninsula in recent years. "Products that cannot grow in the region in a certain amount of time due to the climate are naturally in demand from southern Europeans. The good location here in northern Germany, with fertile soils, a diverse portfolio, reliable producers and our own fleet of lorries, makes us a good partner."(German Pavilion, 8C20 / 8D20)
Great interest in sustainable packaging
The Styrian company Verpackungszentrum (VPZ) and Packnatur will also be exhibiting at this year's Fruit Attraction in cooperation with the Spanish licensed marketer Tecny Media Trading S.L. "Together with our partner, we have successfully launched cellulose tubular nets on the Spanish market. With more than 2,000 exhibitors and over 100,000 visitors, the Fruit Attraction is an important meeting point for the industry, especially for Spain, which is an important hub for citrus fruits and various other fruits and vegetables. We look forward to attending this year's Fruit Attraction, where we will connect with our customers and explore the latest developments and market needs in the field of sustainable packaging solutions," VPZ GmbH says.
International visitors from all over the world
"Last year, interested parties from Spain, Egypt, India, Guatemala, Zimbabwe and many other countries visited our stand. This shows us how international Fruit Attraction is today," says Luis Nunez, Marketing Manager of the two Hamburg-based companies ElbeFruit GmbH and Atlantic Fruit GmbH. Both companies are mainly involved in the import and distribution of overseas products, including pulses, limes and various exotic fruits, and were represented in the German pavilion for the first time last year. "We can be found in the German Pavilion again this year, and have opted for a slightly larger stand area this time. The main added value of having our own stand is that we can split up. This means that part of our team stays on the stand to talk to both potential suppliers and customers, and some employees walk through the halls themselves. This works particularly well for us." (German Pavilion, 8C20 / 8D20)
Luis Nunez and Edgar Günther from ElbeFruit at Fruit Attaction 2023.
Innovations in the field of fresh-cut machines
Kronen GmbH, an international supplier of customised machines for the fresh-cut industry, will once again be exhibiting together with its Spanish representative Danmix S.L. this year. "This year, we are also looking forward to presenting an innovative novelty: the Tona V cutting machine will be cutting vegetables and fruit into sticks, slices, and segments live on site. In addition, other slicing machines such as the KUJ V, the GS 10-2 and the HGW punching machine as well as the KS-100 PLUS salad spinner will be on show in action directly at the stand. Past years have shown that the visitors are very international. Considering the recent increase in visitor numbers, we are looking forward to numerous good discussions and to presenting our machines live and in action to interested parties," says Stefan Köbel, Export Area Manager at KRONEN GmbH, who will be there in person. (Hall 3, E25)
Large participation from the potato industry
Last year, the potato breeding company Europlant GmbH took the opportunity to let its newly founded subsidiary EUROPLANT ESPAÑA Semillas S.L. take centre stage. The trade visitors showed great interest in the numerous potato varieties from Europlant and, due to the special market situation, there was more than enough need for discussion and correspondingly high visitor numbers. The Fruit Attraction is becoming increasingly important for 'early' exports and the expansion of market presence in the Mediterranean region, according to Europlant GmbH.
"This year we are expecting even more visitors and interested parties who want to find out more about our varieties at the stand," says Christian Krahn, responsible for sales and export at the company. "Corinna and Georgina have further established themselves on the market, and the Jelly variety is once again demonstrating how tolerant this variety is to very different weather conditions. Europlant will be on site with international colleagues to provide visitors with expert advice on the varieties." (Hall 10, A03)
Concentrated potato expertise at Fruit Attraction 2023 in Madrid: DKHV President Thomas Herkenrath visits Europlant boss Jörg Renatus.
Exporting vegetables to Spain
Judith Beicht, Head of Marketing at Pfalzmarkt: "We were represented in the German Pavilion for the first time last year and have opted for a slightly larger stand area this year. Pfalzmarkt eG is involved in both the import of Spanish products and exports to the Iberian Peninsula. "We have been supplying the Edeka headquarters in Valencia for several years with cabbage and a wide variety of outdoor salads, among others. One of the most important imported items is the complete range of fruit vegetables. In this respect, the Fruit Attraction is the ideal platform for exchanging ideas with customers and suppliers in one place." (German Pavilion, 8C20 / 8D20)
The Pfalzmarkt team with CEO Reinhard Oerther (2nd from right) and Chairman of the Supervisory Board Christian Deyerling (right).
Compact platform for purposeful dialogue
Thomas Grundhöfer is Managing Director of the Frankfurt-based company of the same name and owner of the 'Götterfrucht' fruit brand, under which mainly Spanish oranges and clementines are traded. The fruit importer was one of the first visitors to the trade fair and already present at the first edition of Fruit Attraction. "For us importers specialising in Spain, Madrid is now more important than Berlin. Madrid is more compact - which may also be because fewer industry suppliers such as packaging and machinery suppliers exhibit there - and also has that southern charm. In the past, we have actually considered exhibiting there ourselves. However, the added value of Fruit Attraction for us lies primarily in the fact that we visit the stands of the respective producers together with our customers. It would therefore make less sense for us to have our own stand."
Logistics service provider Oliver Schuldes from Palomo Solutions GmbH agrees with his industry colleague. "The timing of the trade fair is better than Berlin. The fact that it takes place before the start of the Spanish export season means that a lot can be discussed. We have a strong focus on Southern Europe and our main season normally starts in November. That actually suits us quite well."
Large participation from the banana industry
According to Maksym Kovalenko, banana importer and Managing Director of Bananiv GmbH, the trade fair has become increasingly established in the banana industry, particularly in recent years. "For me, the Fruit Attraction has been a fixed trade fair date for several years now. The good thing about the trade fair is that it takes place shortly before the traditional peak season for bananas, which helps to ensure that many deals and programmes are negotiated on site. Fruit Logistica, on the other hand, only takes place after the peak season and therefore plays a lesser role in purely business terms. It is also noticeable that almost every well-known player in the banana industry now has its own stand in Madrid."
Click here for last year's photo report.
Exhibitors from the DACH region:
Germany:
- ABC Fresh GmbH - Hall 4 / E15
- BayWa Global Produce - Hall 10 / D20
- Betafruit Handels GmbH - Hall 8 / E16
- Cobana GmbH & Co KG. - Hall 10 / A25
- CompoPac - Hall 10 / F28
- Dsmart GmbH - Hall 8 / D28
- Europlant Pflanzenzucht GmbH - Hall 10 / A03
- Fruchthansa GmbH - Hall 8 / A18
- Global Fruit Point GmbH - Hall 4 / E24
- Hapag-Lloyd AG - Hall 4 / C11
- Hellmann Logistics - Hall 4 / A10B
- HLB Tropical Food GmbH - Hall 4 / E18A
- Import Promotion Desk (IPD)- Hall 4 / 4C27
- Multivac Group - Hall 8 / A22
- Port International - Hall 10 / F12
- Artevos GmbH - Hall 8 / B07A
- Atlantic Fruit GmbH - Hall 8 / C20
- ElbeFruit GmbH - Hall 8 / C20
- Elbe-Obst GmbH - Hall 8 / C20
- ELO eG - Hall 8 / D20
- Food Freshly - Hall 8 / D20
- Frigotec GmbH - Hall 6 / C10
- Gemüsering Stuttgart GmbH - Hall 8 / C03
- Herbert Widmann GmbH - Hall 8 / C03
- KÖLLA Group - Hall 8 / D20
- Kronen GmbH - Hall 3 / E25
- Landgard Holding - Hall 8 / D20
- Menno Chemie-Vertrieb GmbH - Hall 8 / C20
- Obst vom Bodensee Vertriebsgesellschaft - Hall 8 / D20
- Pfalzmarkt eG - Hall 8 / C20
- Trofi GmbH - Hall 4 / E15
Austria:
- Estiriateam/Kropfl - Hall 8D18
Switzerland:
- Satori S.A - Hall 4 / D25
- Chiquita International - Hall 10 / C13
- Fyffes International - Hall 10 / D16
- Insolight SA - Hall 1 / C07
For more information:
www.ifema.es/en/fruit-attraction/