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To say that Christmas means a great deal for dried fruit and nut suppliers is like saying chocolate companies quite enjoy Easter. In fact, for Europe’s largest dried fruit and nut company, Importaco, the festive period usually contributes around 40 per cent of its total annual sales. But as the group’s chief executive Toño Pons explains in the latest edition of Fruitnet’s conversation series Fruitbox, the Covid-19 pandemic seems to have sparked even greater demand for these products. “During the last lockdown, we had some examples of sales increasing 50 per cent, and what we discovered was that customers are much more health-conscious,” he notes. “In 2021, there is an expectation for growth of around 5 per cent in the market for nuts worldwide.” The fact that nuts and dried fruit are now seen as good alternatives to other less healthy snacks is a very positive thing for Importaco and companies like it. “Consumers now recognise that nuts are a source of minerals, vitamins, proteins and healthy fats,” Pons adds. “They’re starting to think more and more that nuts are an essential part of a healthy diet. Equally, dried fruit are a very popular choice among kids and sports people.” Hosted by Chris White in London, Fruitbox now attracts a big audience across the global fruit and vegetable business that tunes every week to hear exclusive interviews and expert analysis. Produced by Fruitnet Media International, the show is essential listening for everyone in the fresh produce industry. To find out how you can tell your story on Fruitbox, email chris@fruitnet.com. To learn about sponsorship and advertising opportunities, email advertising@fruitnet.com. Read the latest fresh produce industry news at www.fruitnet.com

Raffaele Benedetti thinks grading technology could soon be able to pick out the best fruit according to its nutritional qualities, a development that could open the door to products being marketed on the basis of specific health benefits. “I think the next step will be in this direction,” he explains in the latest episode of Fruitbox. “The first step was to select for size and colour, then for defects and soft fruit, and now [sugar] and acidity. So why not, nutritional content could be something that the market asks for soon." Benedetti knows better than most the role that technology has played in boosting fruit sales, and especially for example in the recent phenomenal growth in blueberry sales around the world. Thanks to hi-tech camera systems like the ones developed by his company Unitec, suppliers are now able to pick out the best fruit according to a range of different considerations, helping them achieve more consistent quality and grow their business as a result. For now, says Benedetti, the machinery is going a step further and enabling suppliers to grade their fruit according to taste. For the blueberry business, that could be another game-changer. “What this means is they will not find a bad one in with the good ones, or a super-sweet one in with [more] acidic ones,” he explains. Benedetti suggests that a recent drive towards automation in the field will mean greater demand for technology that can offer better product consistency, “Today, harvesting of blueberries is becoming an issue,” he comments. “In the US, they are focused mainly on mechanical harvesting, so today it’s very difficult to do different harvests on the same plant. Most of the time, they do one harvest with a machine. So it’s very important to differentiate the different sizes and internal quality.” Benedetti was taking part in this year’s Global Berry Congress, which took place as a virtual event on 10 December. The event attracted more than 550 people from around 45 different countries. Hosted by Chris White in London, Fruitbox now attracts a big audience across the global fruit and vegetable business that tunes every week to hear exclusive interviews and expert analysis. Produced by Fruitnet Media International, the show is essential listening for everyone in the fresh produce industry. To find out how you can tell your story on Fruitbox, email chris@fruitnet.com. To learn about sponsorship and advertising opportunities, email advertising@fruitnet.com. Read the latest fresh produce industry news at www.fruitnet.com

Change is in the air as the UK prepares to cut loose from its trading alliance with the EU. When it comes to banana imports, however, it’s likely to be business as usual from 1 January 2021, even if the country’s importers remain wary of potential disruption to the labour provision and logistical services on which they depend. “That’s where we’re probably spending most of our time and energy, on making sure that those two things run as smoothly as possible,” says Robert Wells, chief executive of the UK’s biggest banana company SH Pratt, who was speaking in the latest episode of Fruitnet’s conversation series Fruitbox. “Those countries that we’re sourcing from have already made individual agreements with the UK government to continue.” In many respects, the single-variety, low-margin banana trade represents very much the steady ship on a troubled sea as the UK’s fresh produce importers look to steer their business safely over the Brexit cliff-edge and land in calmer waters. The idea that people are not prepared to pay more for bananas – in marked contrast to berries, the category that has now overtaken bananas as the UK’s most valuable produce category – is one that does not seem to trouble Wells. “Of course I’d like to see greater value put on bananas and greater value going back to the growers, who have to take the risk every day of the week, every week of the year, to grow bananas in all sorts of challenging conditions,” he says. “However, we must recognise that bananas are now regarded in the retail world as a staple item, and in the same basket as potatoes, carrots, topfruit and other things that are not really in the same category as berries. I’ve seen the rise of berries, but I don’t think that has detracted from the appeal of bananas.” Hosted by Chris White in London, Fruitbox now attracts a big audience across the global fruit and vegetable business that tunes every week to hear exclusive interviews and expert analysis. Produced by Fruitnet Media International, the show is essential listening for everyone in the fresh produce industry. To find out how you can tell your story on Fruitbox, email chris@fruitnet.com. To learn about sponsorship and advertising opportunities, email advertising@fruitnet.com. Read the latest fresh produce industry news at www.fruitnet.com

The looming possibility of a no-deal Brexit might be a major headache for some in the fresh produce business, but for the commercial director of one of Belgium’s largest fruit exporters it’s uncertainty, rather than the probable impact, that is causing most concern. In late November, as BFV’s Marc Evrard awaited the outcome of talks between London and Brussels to agree the terms of the UK’s future trading relationship with the EU, he told Fruitbox he remained happy that any Brexit-related bumps in the road would not be insurmountable. “I think probably the market will still be there,” he commented. “It might be slightly more complicated or more hassle to reach the market. Definitely there are challenges – tariffs or congestion at entry points, for example – but these will not have any effect on the shelf-life of the fruit. So I don’t have any worries there. We can easily deliver one day to the next, and be there just in time.” That said, could Brexit be about to cloud the UK’s trading landscape. and perhaps nudge a proportion of the group’s sizeable Conference pear deal in the UK, where it sold 28,000 tonnes last year, towards other less troublesome markets? In fact, BFV appears to be especially well prepared for such an eventuality. “The thing is, at the start of the noughties we were already aware of the fact that we didn’t want to depend too much on one large market as a whole. At that time, we had Russia in mind, so we started working out different scenarios on targeting other markets,” Evrard explains, referring to recent expansion into India, China, Brazil and Mexico. “Some of these might even have looked utopian, but simultaneously we also targeted markets closer to home, like Spain and Germany. Go back ten yeas and we hardly sold a kilo of Conference pears in the German market. Now we sell roughly 17m kilos there each year.” Hosted by Chris White in London, Fruitbox now attracts a big audience across the global fruit and vegetable business that tunes every week to hear exclusive interviews and expert analysis. Produced by Fruitnet Media International, the show is essential listening for everyone in the fresh produce industry. To find out how you can tell your story on Fruitbox, email chris@fruitnet.com. To learn about sponsorship and advertising opportunities, email advertising@fruitnet.com. Read the latest fresh produce industry news at www.fruitnet.com

Investing in Peruvian horticulture is very much a safe bet, despite the political unrest seen in the country over the past couple of weeks. That’s according to Steve Magami, co-founder and chairman of Agrovision, who was speaking to Chris White in the latest episode of Fruitnet’sweekly conversation series Fruitbox. Based in Lima and Los Angeles, Agrovision has invested millions of dollars to build up more than 2,000ha of production in Peru – mainly blueberries, but also grapes, asparagus and avocados. For Magami, the upheaval witnessed in recent days should not be a major cause for concern among those who depend on the country’s agricultural output. “Volatility in politics is nothing new to Peru, but whoever has been in power over the last few years has been business-friendly, and we don’t see that changing,” he explains. “Of course, politics gets the headlines, but fundamentally Peru continues its strong growth in industries like agriculture. It’s a vital, strategic sector for the government and the country’s largest employer.” Peru is the official partner country at Asia Fruit Logistica ON, Asia’s leading fresh produce trade exhibition, which takes place online from 18-20 November, as well as a sponsor of Fruitnet’s conference event Asiafruit Congress ON, which was held on 17 November. You can sign up for Asia Fruit Logistica ON here: www.asiafruitlogistica.com Hosted by Chris White in London, Fruitbox now attracts a big audience across the global fruit and vegetable business that tunes every week to hear exclusive interviews and expert analysis. Produced by Fruitnet Media International, the show is essential listening for everyone in the fresh produce industry. To find out how you can tell your story on Fruitbox, email chris@fruitnet.com. To learn about sponsorship and advertising opportunities, email advertising@fruitnet.com. Read the latest fresh produce industry news at www.fruitnet.com

The importance of Asian markets to Peruvian fresh produce companies continues to grow, according to Mario Ocharan, export director of the country’s foreign trade and tourism body PromPerú. Speaking to Chris White during the latest episode of Fruitbox, Fruitnet’s series of conversations about the fresh produce business, Ocharan underlines the growing opportunity that exists for Peruvain fruit and vegetables in various Asian countries. Next week, Peru is the official partner country at Asia Fruit Logistica ON, Asia’s leading fresh produce trade exhibition, which takes place online from 18-20 November, as well as a sponsor of Fruitnet’s conference event Asiafruit Congress ON, which is on 17 November. “Asia is one of our priorities in terms of export promotion,” Ocharan comments, noting recent impressive growth in sales to China, South Korea, India and Japan. That expansion in China has particularly impressive, he explains, with sales now more than US$600m compared with half that figure only three years previously. “So we are expecting to see increasing improvement in the next few years in the relations we have with companies in China and Asia in general,” he adds. You can sign up Asia Fruit Logistica ON and Asiafruit Congress ON for free by using the discount code: FRUITNET20 Visit Asiafruit Congress ON – www.asiafruitcongress.com Visit Asia Fruit Logistica ON – www.asiafruitlogistica.com Hosted by Chris White in London, Fruitbox now attracts a big audience across the global fruit and vegetable business that tunes every week to hear exclusive interviews and expert analysis. Produced by Fruitnet Media International, the show is essential listening for everyone in the fresh produce industry. To find out how you can tell your story on Fruitbox, email chris@fruitnet.com. To learn about sponsorship and advertising opportunities, email advertising@fruitnet.com. Read the latest fresh produce industry news at www.fruitnet.com

Labelling Natoora as the world’s first vertically integrated global greengrocer might not be completely accurate, but for founder and CEO Franco Fubini it’s a description that is not completely wide of the mark. “We’re not massive fans of the word greengrocer, but I think you’re right,” says Franco Fubini. “We’re trying to build a company that can deliver through very unique and transparent supply chains a level of trust and confidence to consumers around the quality of the fresh produce that they buy, both in terms of flavour and in terms of nutritional density. We feel there is the opportunity and scale to do this across the world.” In the past decade and a half, Fubini and his colleagues have taken what began as an online farmers market and transformed it into a producer, importer, supplier, distributor, retailer and brand marketer – in short, a vertically integrated fresh produce company that aims to bring its diversity of range, quality and flavour to customers and consumers wherever they need it. Focusing exclusively on provenance and seasonality, Natoora’s raison d’être has always been to source seasonal products and deliver them to consumers via sustainable supply chains. Staying true to that ethos, the group has been able to carve itself a niche at the very top end of the market. “It fits a growing need,” Fubini explains during his conversation with Fruitbox host Chris White. “There’s a consumer out there that is looking for something of higher flavour, particularly when it comes to fruits.” The success of that approach over the past decade and a half has seen the company set up operations in New York, Paris, Barcelona, Los Angeles and London, where it has five of its own upmarket greengrocer outlets. Now there is talk of further expansion for the firm in places like Tokyo too. Plus, it has also managed to convince retailers like Waitrose, Whole Foods and Ocado to stock its branded products. No mean feat for a fresh produce company with its origins firmly rooted in the wholesale trade. Hosted by Chris White in London, Fruitbox now attracts a big audience across the global fruit and vegetable business that tunes every week to hear exclusive interviews and expert analysis. Produced by Fruitnet Media International, the show is essential listening for everyone in the fresh produce industry. To find out how you can tell your story on Fruitbox, email chris@fruitnet.com. To learn about sponsorship and advertising opportunities, email advertising@fruitnet.com. Read the latest fresh produce industry news at www.fruitnet.com

Mike Port is the chief executive of Port International, the Hamburg-based importer which recently took up the challenge of tackling climate change. Tomorrow marks exactly one year since the company started marketing CO2-neutral bananas under a new brand called Be Climate, a move that Port believes brings new value to a product that is renowned for its slim margins and frequently used as a weapon of choice among retailers engaging in price wars. “Every Be Climate banana has a QR code, so the consumers with their mobile phones can find out very easily that, by buying one kilo of bananas, they have compensated 940g of CO2,” he explains during the latest episode of Fruitnet’s conversation series Fruitbox. “But it’s not only showing them how much CO2 they balance. It also shows in a very transparent way what they have done with it.” Port accepts that no single company can fight climate change on its own. “We cannot do everything but we have made a start, showing consumers and our partners that we have projects where we reduce emissions and for the rest we are balancing by investing in offset projects,” he argues. So are retailers changing their attitude to the banana market? Are they buying into the idea of the fruit’s potential added value? The answer, says Port, is certainly not all of them, although he notes that Belgian supermarket chain Delhaize recently replaced its premium range with Be Climate and subsequently sold more bananas under the brand. “Covid hasn’t helped,” he admits. “I see a tendency towards the race to the bottom and who has the most competitive bananas on the shelf, because consumers obviously are quite sensitive and they like to buy cheap bananas. In the future, they are afraid about what’s going to happen. So unfortunately the price fighter will [still] play a role. However, I believe that there will also be a lot of consumers who will focus on values and who are prepared to pay for quality, organics, fair trade and also lately for stopping climate change.” The important lesson, he notes, is to build a narrative around the value you are trying to secure. “If you can put a story behind a brand, or a special quality, or a new variety, then there will be consumers and supermarkets giving you a chance with this product, because it sells.” Hosted by Chris White in London, Fruitbox now attracts a big audience across the global fruit and vegetable business that tunes every week to hear exclusive interviews and expert analysis. Produced by Fruitnet Media International, the show is essential listening for everyone in the fresh produce industry. To find out how you can tell your story on Fruitbox, email chris@fruitnet.com. To learn about sponsorship and advertising opportunities, email advertising@fruitnet.com. Read the latest fresh produce industry news at www.fruitnet.com

David Alba is a firm believer in the value of innovation as a driver of new business. As director of Valencia-based Genesis Innovation Group, a division of leading Spanish fresh produce business AM Fresh, he spearheads the company’s development of new citrus varieties, helping it to introduce even better types of fruit that will ensure the value of what it offers the market continues to grow. “We wanted to go all the way from seed to shelf,” he explains in the latest episode of Fruitbox, Fruitnet’s weekly series of conversations about the international fresh fruit and vegetable business. “So not only do we grow, pick and pack citrus for our customers, now we also develop our own varieties to complete the whole cycle.” So what kind of new citrus varieties are needed for today’s customers? “Nowadays the market drivers are far more sophisticated than before. Flavour and colour are still very important quality attributes, of course, but consumer demands are also focused on things like shape, size, peelability, seedlessness, juice content, texture, the whole eating experience,” Alba tells Fruitbox host Chris White. “And there also important points like shelflife, healthy attributes and nutritional content, whether the fruit has been grown according to the right ethical and environmental standards.” During the episode, Alba goes on to discuss various topics, including the potential for developing more customised products, balancing the needs of growers with commercial imperatives, making citrus production more sustainable, and combating the global coronavirus pandemic. Hosted by Chris White in London, Fruitbox now attracts a big audience across the global fruit and vegetable business that tunes every week to hear exclusive interviews and expert analysis. Produced by Fruitnet Media International, the show is essential listening for everyone in the fresh produce industry. To find out how you can tell your story on Fruitbox, email chris@fruitnet.com. To learn about sponsorship and advertising opportunities, email advertising@fruitnet.com. Read the latest fresh produce industry news at www.fruitnet.com

John Hey knows the Asian fresh produce market almost like the back of his hand. As editorial director for Fruitnet in Asia, he’s seen some major changes to the way the market – or that collection of extremely varied markets – works, particularly in the past six months as a result of the Covid-19 crisis. “The pandemic has really been a catalyst for change in shopping behaviour,” he tells Chris White during the latest episode of Fruitnet’s conversation series Fruitbox. “Wet markets have been heavily impacted by Covid restrictions, like social distancing and shorter operating hours, and some consumers have stayed away due to hygiene and food safety fears.” Modern retail formats like supermarkets have certainly benefited from that shift, but Hey believes the most significant growth is elsewhere. “The headline trend we’ve seen is online and digital channels growing their share of fresh produce sales,” he notes. “Pre-pandemic, China was already blazing a trail in the digitalisation of food retail with the integration of online and offline, but Covid has really accelerated the trend there.” Plus there have been other interesting developments in other parts of the supply chain, including producers and importers developing their own innovative and ingenious ways of reaching consumers. “That’s a trend I think that we will likely see grow.” During this specially extended episode of Fruitbox, Hey takes us through a whistlestop tour of Asian markets, summing up the various trends, challenges and opportunities that exist for fresh fruit and vegetable suppliers and buyers. Hosted by Chris White in London, Fruitbox now attracts a big audience across the global fruit and vegetable business that tunes every week to hear exclusive interviews and expert analysis. Produced by Fruitnet Media International, the show is essential listening for everyone in the fresh produce industry. To find out how you can tell your story on Fruitbox, email chris@fruitnet.com. To learn about sponsorship and advertising opportunities, email advertising@fruitnet.com. Read the latest fresh produce industry news at www.fruitnet.com

The first day of October 2020 was a busy and exciting one for Mike Browne, chief operating officer at Mission Produce. The company made history by listing on US stock exchange the Nasdaq, with an initial public offering aimed at raising a potential US$100m. And as more and more markets open to an increasing number of suppliers around the world, the prospects for those investors who buy into what some regard as green gold seem especially strong. In episode 40 of Fruitbox, Fruitnet’s Chris White talks to Browne about what the IPO means for Mission itself and for the avocado business as a whole. “It gives Mission a lot of opportunity to do more of what we already do,” Browne comments. “As a leader in the business, we’re laser-focused on fresh avocados. We’re going to continue to innovate, and continue to find ways to get the freshest, most wholesome avocados ripened correctly and to consumers.” For Browne and his colleagues, receiving an injection of investment backing will give the company even more capacity to explore new commercial avenues faster – for example opening new markets or developing new sources of supply. “It’s going to give us a lot of flexibility to grow the company, to have more elasticity within the company, to have a responsible balance sheet, and to continue doing what we’ve done – to innovate not only in the distribution but also in the farming and vertically integrate,” says Browne. “We’re one of the largest growers of avocados in the world and we’re going to continue to grow more globally.” Hosted by Chris White in London, Fruitbox now attracts a big audience across the global fruit and vegetable business that tunes every week to hear exclusive interviews and expert analysis. Produced by Fruitnet Media International, the show is essential listening for everyone in the fresh produce industry. To find out how you can tell your story on Fruitbox, email chris@fruitnet.com. To learn about sponsorship and advertising opportunities, email advertising@fruitnet.com. Read the latest fresh produce industry news at www.fruitnet.com

In the latest edition of Fruitbox, host Chris White speaks to Mike Knowles, editorial director for Europe at Fruitnet Media, and to Maura Maxwell, Fruitnet’s Latin America and Spain editor, about the ongoing challenges faced by the European fresh fruit and veg business as a result of the Covid crisis. You may recall that Mike and Maura were the first ever guests on episode one of Fruitbox, which launched as a new format just as Europe was coming to terms with the full implications of the pandemic. Having reported back then on some startling new features emerging in the retail and foodservice markets, this time they look forward and consider the longer-term implications for fresh produce suppliers and marketers as a result of trends such as online ordering, home delivery, meal kits and box schemes, and the continued depression in out-of-home eating. They also give their take on what the changing market dynamics will mean further down the line for key fruit and veg suppliers across Europe. Demand has been high over the past six months but there are indications that the inevitable global recession is already beginning to bite, with worrying signs of less commercial breathing space for things like new product development, consumer engagement and value-added items at the top end of the market. And then of course there’s Brexit… Hosted by Chris White in London, Fruitbox now attracts a big audience across the global fruit and vegetable business that tunes every week to hear exclusive interviews and expert analysis. Produced by Fruitnet Media International, the show is essential listening for everyone in the fresh produce industry. To find out how you can tell your story on Fruitbox, email chris@fruitnet.com. To learn about sponsorship and advertising opportunities, email advertising@fruitnet.com. Read the latest fresh produce industry news at www.fruitnet.com

David Marguleas is chief executive officer of Sun World International, a leading developer of new table grape and stonefruit varieties based in California, US. With a portfolio of premium varieties now being grown in an increasing number of new places around the globe, the enormous opportunities emerging for the group in terms of those products’ considerable market potential are, Marguleas admits, accompanied by major new challenges on the production side. Chief among those challenges is labour, be it the cost or indeed availability of workers to harvest and handle the fruit. “We’ve been struggling on these issues of availability of labour as well as increasing labour costs – particularly on these highly labour-intensive crops, like grapes, berries and stonefruit that are so dependent on the timely availability of people to harvest and produce them,” Marguleas explains. “But also the increasing cost in a number of places like the US, southern Europe and Australia, where the cost of these crops and actually getting them off the tree or the vine in a timely manner and into a coldstorage facility and through the supply chain is increasingly prohibitive.” For Marguleas, one important response has to be to invest in more advanced technology. “In particular, we think [there is a] need for more significant automation – not just in the packhouses but certainly in the fields – and looking at robotic harvesting capabilities for many of these labour-intensive and perishable crops,” he tells Fruitbox host Chris White. “So we’re excited about expansion not only of new growing locations but also new technologies that enable that and also new varieties that allow for the production of varieties that previously couldn’t be grown in some areas.” Hosted by Chris White in London, Fruitbox now attracts a big audience across the global fruit and vegetable business that tunes every week to hear exclusive interviews and expert analysis. Produced by Fruitnet Media International, the show is essential listening for everyone in the fresh produce industry. To find out how you can tell your story on Fruitbox, email chris@fruitnet.com. To learn about sponsorship and advertising opportunities, email advertising@fruitnet.com. Read the latest fresh produce industry news at www.fruitnet.com

Dr Manuel Madrid has worked for some of the biggest businesses in the fresh produce industry – Syngenta, Driscoll’s, SanLucar and Chiquita to name four giants of the trade – but for more than a decade now he has been running his own consultancy, Fruit Profits. Now, as he reveals in the latest episode of Fruitnet’s conversation series Fruitbox, he’s preparing to relocate from Valencia in Spain to a new base in Costa Rica, from where he will work with a number of fruit companies to help them grow and improve their business. Top of his list, especially for those banana and pineapple companies in the region that face rising costs and diminishing returns, will be to help them identify new ways to secure more value in their supply chains – by introducing better techniques and technology, by switching from traditional crops to higher-value items like mangoes, papayas, avocados or berries, or perhaps even by exploring new markets in other parts of the world. “I think we need to change the model for agriculture and change it to [be] much less dependent on inputs and more sustainable, which is also going to be less costly to produce,” he tells Fruitbox host Chris White. “That would be a win-win on the economic and sustainability side.” Hosted by Chris White in London, Fruitbox now attracts a big audience across the global fruit and vegetable business that tunes in twice a week to hear exclusive interviews and expert analysis. Produced by Fruitnet Media International, the show is essential listening for everyone in the fresh produce industry. To find out how you can tell your story on Fruitbox, email chris@fruitnet.com. To learn about sponsorship and advertising opportunities, email advertising@fruitnet.com. Read the latest fresh produce industry news at www.fruitnet.com

Andriy Yarmak, economist at the United Nations FAO Investment Centre, spends a large part of his time monitoring developments in central Asia’s fresh produce business. As Yarmak explains in the latest episode of Fruitbox, recent developments in countries like Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan reflect a growing interest in the region as a potentially global source of fruits and vegetables. Last year, for example, German buyers purchased fresh table grapes and persimmons from this part of the world, while the UK took a small but significant volume of sweet cherries from Uzbekistan. China too is actively looking to source more from central Asia, Yarmak notes, and even though Russia remains the dominant buyer in the region, it’s clear that these countries are going to play a bigger role in the international fruit and veg market in years to come. “They’re important because they are among the top global players already, and many people don’t realise it,” Yarmak tells Fruitnet’s Chris White. “Uzbekistan stands out. It’s already among the largest producers of many different types of fruit and vegetable. For example, it’s the second-largest exporter of raisins in the world, the second-largest exporter of apricots in the world, and the third-largest global exporter of fresh apricots.” What’s more, the quality and taste of products being grown in central Asia is “just amazing”, he adds. “They have a unique, very dry climate with a lot of sunny days, and it’s really hot in summer. But it’s also pretty cold in winter. I would compare Uzbekistan with Chile in some ways. It’s fairly remote from consumers, but it can reach them with a variety of products.” Hosted by Chris White in London, Fruitbox now attracts a big audience across the global fruit and vegetable business that tunes in twice a week to hear exclusive interviews and expert analysis. Produced by Fruitnet Media International, the show is essential listening for everyone in the fresh produce industry. To find out how you can tell your story on Fruitbox, email chris@fruitnet.com. To learn about sponsorship and advertising opportunities, email advertising@fruitnet.com. Read the latest fresh produce industry news at www.fruitnet.com

Ksenia Gorovaya, managing director of St Petersburg-based Crisp Consulting, was in the eye of the storm in the summer of 2014, when Russia decided to ban a range of food imports – including fresh fruit and vegetables – from the EU, US, Australia, Norway and Canada. Six years on, with the blockade still very much in place, she talks to Chris White about the ongoing impact of that decision on the country’s fresh produce import business, part of which has refocused on the former Soviet republics as well as places like Iran, and also on its local, domestic supply. “Russia still imports quite a lot, but crops that can be grown locally are gaining more share on retail shelves,” she reveals in the latest episode of Fruitbox. “For example sufficiency for potato production is close to 95 per cent.” Russia’s self-sufficiency in the commercial tomato sector, she adds, expanded from 25 per cent to 50 per cent. Within the past five years, about 1,000ha of greenhouses were launched both by the governmental and private investments, while retailers themselves have been investing in their own production. “Magnit now aims to produce up to one-third of their tomato assortment in their own greenhouse facilities, which is an example of how rapidly it is going,” Gorovaya points out. Hosted by Chris White in London, Fruitbox now attracts a big audience across the global fruit and vegetable business that tunes in twice a week to hear exclusive interviews and expert analysis. Produced by Fruitnet Media International, the show is essential listening for everyone in the fresh produce industry. To find out how you can tell your story on Fruitbox, email chris@fruitnet.com. To learn about sponsorship and advertising opportunities, email advertising@fruitnet.com. Read the latest fresh produce industry news at www.fruitnet.com

Fruitbox speaks to Steven Roberts and Annelies Blaauwkamer of Rijk Zwaan, founders of the Love My Salad campaign, which celebrates its tenth anniversary in August. Designed as a way to inspire and engage with consumers in an age of social media, Love My Salad has aimed to build up a positive image of vegetables among consumers, rather than building a more traditional message around the idea that doing so should be compulsory. The project now operates in more than 20 countries worldwide as well as 14 different languages, encouraging more than 4m people every year to see vegetables differently and be inspired to eat more of them as a result. “We wanted to create a positive image for vegetables, a place where people could share knowledge and inspiration, and essentially create, share and enjoy them every day,” says Roberts. As Blaauwkamer explains, the public perception of vegetables has changed very much for the better in the past ten years. “Food consumption in general is changing and I think vegetables can benefit from this,” she comments. “We still have a long way to go, but I think these developments are really positive.” During their conversation with Fruitnet’s Chris White, Steven and Annelies talk about the marketing work they have done to connect with chefs, bloggers, growers and consumers, as well as outlining their plans for the campaign’s future development through a new startup accelerator programme. Hosted by Chris White in London, Fruitbox now attracts a big audience across the global fruit and vegetable business that tunes in twice a week to hear exclusive interviews and expert analysis. Produced by Fruitnet Media International, the show is essential listening for everyone in the fresh produce industry. Episode 32 of Fruitbox is sponsored by Rijk Zwaan. To find out how you can tell your story on Fruitbox, email chris@fruitnet.com. To learn about sponsorship and advertising opportunities, email advertising@fruitnet.com. Read the latest fresh produce industry news at www.fruitnet.com

Uri Krieger’s roots go deep when it comes to developing new types of vegetable. Recently appointed as global head of vegetables and flowers R&D at Syngenta, he says he’s determined to use his background in plant breeding to overcome public scepticism about genetics and, even more crucially, to help growers produce more and better crops with greater efficiency. “By 2050, the world population will be around 30 per cent higher, at about 10bn, so demand for food is expected to grow,” Krieger tells Fruitnet's Chris White in the latest edition of Fruitbox. “We’re going to have many more people and increased consumption.” At the same time, producers need to know that the vegetables they grow in future can cope with changes in climate, he insists. “We have to find ways to grow our food more efficiently, [because] at the same time the amount of resources available, like water and soil, have either stayed flat or in some cases have been reduced.” He adds: “Our challenge as an industry is to find a sustainable solution, to grow much more with far less.” Hosted by Chris White in London, Fruitbox now attracts a big audience across the global fruit and vegetable business that tunes in twice a week to hear exclusive interviews and expert analysis. Produced by Fruitnet Media International, the show is essential listening for everyone in the fresh produce industry. Episode 32 of Fruitbox is sponsored by Syngenta Vegetable Seeds. To find out how you can tell your story on Fruitbox, email chris@fruitnet.com. To learn about sponsorship and advertising opportunities, email advertising@fruitnet.com. Read the latest fresh produce industry news at www.fruitnet.com

Phil Lempert believes many supermarkets were selling fresh fruit and vegetables wrong even before the coronavirus pandemic began. Now, with the crisis causing dramatic changes to the entire food distribution business, he thinks a radical overhaul of the supermarket format is coming, while foodservice outlets could see new opportunities to offer consumers an attractive alternative place to buy their fresh produce. Lempert certainly knows a thing or two about what makes supermarkets tick, not to mention where they need to improve. Known to many as the SupermarketGuru, he makes regular appearances talking about grocery trends on CNN, NBC, ABC, Fox News and even the Oprah Winfrey show. Speaking to Chris White in the latest episode of Fruitnet’s conversation series Fruitbox, Lempert casts a critical eye over supermarket fresh produce departments, explains where they can improve, and considers what the supermarket of the future will look like. He also comments on the rise and predicted fall of retail’s answer to foodservice the groceraunt, the apparent arrival of a new distribution channel in the form of the so-called restaumart, the expansion of e-commerce and discount retailing, an expected increase in the popularity of scratch cooking, and the great upheaval being seen in the restaurant business as a result of Covid-19. Hosted by Chris White in London, Fruitbox now attracts a big audience across the global fruit and vegetable business that tunes in twice a week to hear exclusive interviews and expert analysis. Produced by Fruitnet Media International, the show is essential listening for everyone in the fresh produce industry. To find out how you can tell your story on Fruitbox, email chris@fruitnet.com. To learn about sponsorship and advertising opportunities, email advertising@fruitnet.com.

Barbara Bray MBE, a nutritionist and food safety consultant, noticed something strange going on as the coronavirus crisis began to take hold in Europe. Google data showed that searches for the words immunity and veg were much higher than usual. In the latest episode of Fruitbox, Fruitnet’s series of conversations about the fresh fruit and vegetable business, Bray joins host Chris White to discuss the potential lasting effects of lockdown and the pandemic on our diets. As consumers, for example, are we eating more healthy products, more unhealthy snack products, or in fact both? And what happens in the longer term if, as expected, spending power decreases? How accessible will healthy eating be for the estimated 820m people worldwide who are already undernourished or the two billion adults around the globe who are reckoned to be obese? And could concerns over future food supply cause ripples of tension in domestic politics or international trade? “Before the pandemic we ate out a lot and ate a lot food on the go, so we weren’t really putting together meals that were well balanced. More people have had time to do that now, so we’re starting to reap the benefits of that,” Bray comments. “The only problem is that, once we’re into that post-pandemic world, if we pick up our old routines we could slip back into old habits and start to lose some of those qualities we picked up about preparing healthy, balanced meals. I really hope there is a lot of drift into eating more fruits and vegetables., but I guess it’s inevitable there will be some slowdown.” Hosted by Chris White in London, Fruitbox now attracts a big audience across the global fruit and vegetable business that tunes in twice a week to hear exclusive interviews and expert analysis. Produced by Fruitnet Media International, the show is essential listening for everyone in the fresh produce industry. To find out how you can tell your story on Fruitbox, email chris@fruitnet.com. To learn about sponsorship and advertising opportunities, email advertising@fruitnet.com.