Next month Fruit Logistica, the gigantic fresh produce event, meets February 7-9 at Berlin ExpoCenter City and CityCube Berlin for the 26th time. For all the glitz and glamour and displays and technologies it brings to the world, the expo might also be branded Fruchtsalat.
      Move over “Chiquita Banana,” this expo has cumquats doing the Lambada in the aisles.
      And looking at the growing numbers at this show, “You ain’t seen nothing yet!”
      Fruit Logistica in 2018 is 3,077 exhibitors and 76,000 attendees covering every single sector of the fresh produce business.
      But what makes Fruit Logistica top banana in our book, in addition to the obvious, lies in the unusual things it brings to the table.
      For example, read “Fruit Trade 2025 Ideas-Impulses-Insights.” Created in 2017 on behalf of Messe Berlin, the organizers of Fruit Logistica, it was written by Marta Kwiatkowski and Christine Schäfer at The Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute (GDI) based in Rüschlikon near Zurich.
      Non-profit GDI creates social and economic studies and also happens to be the oldest think tank in Switzerland.
      Here is a taste…

Meeting Fresh Expectations Ahead

      “Alternating between Aldi and Armani:
      “That is how market researchers and businesses experience today’s hybrid consumer, and they have quickly become wise to him.
      “When ego involvement is high, brands take the limelight and prices become irrelevant.
      “For low ego involvement goods, however, the drivers are convenience and price.”

McDonald’s & Haute Cuisine

      “But it is not so simple when it comes to diet.
      “In one scenario, a religious diet philosophy for the conscious consumer dictates that an apple can only be eaten if he knows the name and the physical distance to the producer, as well as the production methods used.
      “But in a take-away situation, personal karma is not compromised if the same apple is procured cheaper in bulk – and even sourced from a distant time zone. Supported by a new range of food products, hybridization of eating habits is on the increase.
      “While it used to be anchored at the extreme poles of McDonald’s and Haute Cuisine, it (diet) now revolves around Soylent and experience gastronomy –and all that without neglecting a healthy diet.”

The Soylent Voice

      “Soylent is synonymous with completely liquid food, ‘astronaut food’ for everyone – healthy, tasty, nutritious and affordable.
      “Social media act as a high-speed news ticker, constantly transmitting new diet-related trends.
      “However, rapid changes in food trends and hypeproducts, demanded instantaneously by a large number of consumers, can be a problem for the fresh produce industry.”

Exceeding Expectation A Must

      “A natural product is limited in its capacity to cater for such erratic and volatile levels of demand.
      “Nevertheless, these popular social channels are also open to the fresh produce sector itself.
      “It can therefore try to use social media mechanisms to position the issues it considers important.
      “Bloggers (Instagram), YouTube channels, celebrity cooks – the field is wide ranging.
      “New production technologies can also facilitate better production options, independent of seasonality and weather. This will allow a quicker, more targeted response to demand in the future.”

Recipe For Supply Chain Success

      “Establishing transparency will become increasingly easy, though this will be a challenge for food safety.
      “Nevertheless it is an opportunity for the entire supply chain.
      “Producers have a direct line to the consumer, providing opportunities to differentiate themselves from the competition.
      “The provision of consumer information is becoming simpler and faster.
      “This also offers the opportunity to highlight seasonal production, and even address the consumers’ willingness to pay higher prices.”

Don’t Forget the Individual

      “Healthy food is tested for its specific health effects, and tailored to individual diet plans.
      “New technologies make it easier to prepare customized diet plans based on fresh products such as fruit and vegetables.
      “This significant development goes beyond the current organic trend (‘Beyond Organic’).”

Read The Rest here.

      Nobody wore a fruit fedora better than the 1940s film star Carmen Miranda.
      Next month during Carnival in Rio de Janiero, Brazil, (February 9-17) look for a half-dozen drag queens and others to appear in her much loved image.
      In 2005 the Museum of Modern Art in Rio marked the 50th anniversary of Ms. Miranda’s passing with an exhibit that included over 700 items including her clothing, jewels, old records, magazines, and pictures.
Geoffrey