Fruitnet podcasts

José Antonio Gómez, managing director of Peruvian company Camposol, is overseeing a significant transformation, one that could offer inspiration for other fresh produce suppliers hoping to future-proof their own business.

As supermarkets look for even more dependable and more efficient procurement of fresh fruit and vegetables, Camposol is expanding its supply base beyond Peru so it can provide customers with year-round supply of key items like avocados and blueberries from multiple sources.

“Most supermarkets that we serve are looking for a supplier [to which] they can assign a distribution centre year round and forget about looking for other suppliers. It comes really from them,” he explains in the latest episode of Fruitbox, Fruitnet’s bi-weekly conversation series.

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 [email protected].

To learn about sponsorship and advertising opportunities, email [email protected].

Tonie Fuchs is a firm believer in the power of premium. As managing director of South Africa’s Capespan Group, he says a commitment to top-quality products and the best levels of service is the right way forward as the company attempts to sustain growth in fruit markets all across the world.

“We want to be important to a few customers and not just go and dump volumes of produce in those markets, because we’ve also seen how quickly those markets can turn against you when an industry and a certain supply region just goes and dumps a load of product into those markets,” Fuchs comments in the episode of Fruitbox, Fruitnet’s series of conversations with fresh produce industry leaders.

“For us it’s [about] very selective, premium customers with whom we can build a long-term relationship from multiple supply regions in a wider basket of fruit.”

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 [email protected].

To learn about sponsorship and advertising opportunities, email [email protected].

Jan Doldersum, chain and retail manager at Dutch vegetable breeding and seed production company Rijk Zwaan, believes the concept of local is increasingly resonating with consumers.

That’s not just because more of them want to eat fresh produce that has been produced a shorter distance away, but also because buying those items from somewhere closer to home, or having them delivered along a shorter distribution chain, has become more convenient and therefore more appealing.

It’s a trend that was already in motion prior to the coronavirus outbreak, he says, but one that has also been accelerated by the pandemic.

“In countries like Germany, UK, Switzerland and Austria we already saw before the corona crisis a trend towards more domestic production,” Doldersum tells Fruitnet’s Chris White in the latest episode of the conversation series Fruitbox. “This of course has a huge impact for export countries like Holland and Spain.”

During the interview, Doldersum discusses the impact of coronavirus on the vegetable market, as well as the potential for lasting and permanent change in the global vegetable supply chain.

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 [email protected].

To learn about sponsorship and advertising opportunities, email [email protected].

Chris Groot is produce chain manager at breeding company Enza Zaden, one of only a handful of companies around the world that is developing the vegetables of tomorrow.

As he explains in the latest edition of Fruitbox, Fruitnet’s series of conversations with leading members of the international fresh produce business, the outlook for these companies looks bright, especially with more and more consumers seeking out healthier and more nutritious diets.

However, there are major challenges too in creating new products to satisfy that demand. In particular, developing new varieties that meet the requirements of consumers, retailers and growers alike means the whole process is far more complicated these days.

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 [email protected].

To learn about sponsorship and advertising opportunities, email [email protected].

Alk Brand is the chief executive officer of South African company Westfalia, the world’s largest avocado grower and a major supplier of several different kinds of fresh fruit.

Giving his first interview in his new role, Alk talks exclusively to Fruitnet’s Chris White about the recent spike in sales of avocados, the company’s plans to expand its production worldwide, the potential for further growth in demand as consumer interest in healthy eating rises, and the need to keep improving when it comes to environmental sustainability and ethical sourcing.

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 [email protected].

To learn about sponsorship and advertising opportunities, email [email protected].

Monica Bratuti of New Zealand-owned fresh produce marketing business Turners International explains how avocados’ versatility, combined with a relative lack of market penetration in some of the world’s major consumer markets, means there is still ample room for growth in sales worldwide.

“It’s not only that it’s a healthy fruit, but it’s also a very generous fruit that allows you to never stop learning new ways to eat it or drink it or use it,” she comments in the latest episode of Fruitbox.

When it comes to potential market growth, she says, future expansion for the avocado category will definitely be seen in parts of Asia, Europe and the Middle East. But there are some clouds on the horizon, not least because of apparent oversupply at certain times of the year.

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 [email protected].

To learn about sponsorship and advertising opportunities, email [email protected].

Tarun Arora, director of Mumbai-based importer IG International, is certain that establishing the right kind of logistic network over the past five decades has enabled the company to achieve “outstanding” growth in a market as enormous and daunting as India. Now, the company is investing in local production of emerging products like blueberries as well as ramping up its ecommerce business with the launch of a new ordering app.

In the latest episode of Fruitnet’s interview series Fruitbox, Arora explains how a company that is marking its 50th anniversary this year is managing to remain at the cutting edge of consumer and retail trends.

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 [email protected].

To learn about sponsorship and advertising opportunities, email [email protected].

Julie Escobar, co-founder of industry association Global Women Fresh, believes the entire fresh produce business has a vital role to play in creating better opportunities for women across the world.

Speaking in the latest episode of Fruitnet’s interview series Fruitbox, Escobar talks about the organisation’s ambitious plans to inspire and empower women during the months and years ahead.

Established in 2019 to connect, inspire and empower women in the fresh produce business worldwide. the organisation is now working with the United Nations to empower 3m women, mainly in under-developed economies of Africa and Asia, by 2021.

A recent project established in Kenya, for example, as part of the International Trade Centre’s SheTrades initiative is helping female entrepreneurs develop production and exports of fresh avocados.

“So far we have provided one-on-one business coaching to more than 50 small businesses in Africa,” Escobar reveals. “We also just completed a set of webinars where we educated 200 women on global supply chain, global marketing, leadership strategy and how to navigate through the difficult times of Covid.”

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 [email protected].

To learn about sponsorship and advertising opportunities, email [email protected].

Todd Fryhover, president of the Washington Apple Commission, is ready to lead a major marketing push for the United States’ largest apple export deal having secured a 50 per cent increase in the group’s annual promotional budget from US$8m to $12m.

Speaking in the latest edition of Fruitnet’s interview series Fruitbox, Fryhover predicts that, during the next 12 months, producers will continue to ramp up production of new varieties and will also keep targeting a number of promising international markets.

He also talks about the meteoric rise of new variety Cosmic Crisp, as well as commenting on plans to sell more in markets like China, Vietnam and Indonesia, challenges associated with trade disputes and coronavirus, and the need to use social media more in order to reach consumers.

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 [email protected].

To learn about sponsorship and advertising opportunities, email [email protected].

Soren Bjorn, president of leading berry brand Driscoll’s, believes the development of year-round supply in the soft category offers important lessons for everyone in the fresh fruit and vegetable business.

Speaking in the latest episode of Fruitnet’s interview series Fruitbox, Bjorn explains how the berry category has not only benefited from being right on trend as far as flavour, health and convenience are concerned, but has generally succeeded in offering the right quality all through the year, rather than only in peak seasons.

That lack of quality is not always evident in other categories, notably stonefruit, he argues.

"A lot of times, the first thing a consumer tries is those really early peaches from somewhere where you really shouldn't grow peaches and that just don't taste of anything,” he comments. “And by the time you get to the really good peaches in the middle of summer, the consumers have already left the category. I think the berry category has generally done a better job.”

That’s not to say the soft fruit industry itself doesn’t face its own challenges in terms of guaranteeing quality. As Bjorn points out, recent dramatic growth in sales of blueberries has led to some lower-quality fruit being produced in countries including Peru and Spain.

“The advantage is that most growers made quite a bit of money, so they have the cash to reinvest in the genetics and upgrade the genetics pretty quickly,” he comments. “But that’s what they will need to do, because they general offer that’s there today, it will just not be competitive in three or four years.”

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 [email protected].

To learn about sponsorship and advertising opportunities, email [email protected].