4 Things That Surprised Us About Fruit Logistica

February 18, 2015
5:48 pm

Posted by DMA Solutions Team

Before Dan’l and I left for Berlin, we heard a few of our fresh produce industry colleagues describe Fruit Logistica using words like “over-the-top” and “innovation mecca.” As we experienced nearly every square inch of the 350,000 square feet of the show floors (multiple levels that is), we realized quickly that our friends were right. With 2,630 total exhibitors, five or more levels of show floor and two days to see it all, Dan’l and I brought home more than fond memories from Berlin.

Here are 4 things that stood out to us at Fruit Logistica 2015:

1. Sales happen in the booth.

For two patriots from the USA attending Fruit Logistica for the first time, we were blown away by the volume of sales transactions occurring right in the booths. This was evident by the number of open and obvious conversations, paperwork and signatures taking place. It’s a very different scenario to what we experience at tradeshows in the US, no doubt. The buyers drive this dynamic – and in turn the brands in the booths are prepared and ready for the opportunity to sell.

2. Booth entertaining is strategic.

In the USA, we invite just about anyone walking by the booth in for a taste, a story or a gift from our brand. At Fruit Logistica, it is the complete opposite. Since closing sales is of the utmost importance during the international show, exhibitors host their lucrative booth guests to join them in the booth for meetings complete with well-planned and catered wining and dining. Thus, if you aren’t an invited guest to the booth (like Dan’l and me), odds are you will not taste the food samples, receive a copy of the latest sales brochure or hear a story. We realized this early on in the Fruit Logistica experience when I marched into a booth, grabbed a meatball from an impeccably arranged plate only to be scolded by a lovely Italian woman who educated me that, “The meatballs are for the invited guests.” Oops.

3. Merchandising is an art form.

Never before have we witnessed such beautifully arranged fresh produce concepts than during Fruit Logistica. We were impressed with the marketing investment brands make for their booths, from booth scaffolds dripping with peppers, tomatoes, grapes and cucumbers to an Eiffel Tower made of produce from France. The beauty and artistic nature of these companies and their brands simply blew us away.

4. Innovation is relative.

We have heard numerous times from colleagues who have attended Fruit Logistica that the show is truly “innovative.” Returning from Berlin, we had no doubt that there was an abundance of innovative products, packaging, equipment and booth designs happening on the show floor. However, what we saw isn’t necessarily more innovative than what one can see at Fresh Summit, United Fresh, or FMI. What we experienced can be more accurately described as different rather than purely innovative. As we described in numbers 1 through 3 above, the innovation for us was in how the brands presented themselves and catered to their booth guests.

With so many wonderful things to do and to experience while in Berlin, Fruit Logistica certainly exceeded our expectations. Now that we’ve experienced this show, we look forward to providing useful tools and information that we gleaned from our experience to share with you in preparation for Fruit Logistica 2016. Until then, auf widersehen.