Fruitbox

Artificial intelligence can now be used to predict the future with unprecedented accuracy.

That’s good news for companies in the fruit and vegetable business, where the products’ sheer unpredictability in terms of yield and shelf-life remains the industry’s biggest inherent challenge.

Michele Dall’Olio, chief operating officer Fresh4cast, says companies have started to unlock the big potential that AI offers. In particular, he says, greater predictability means greater profitability.

“Being able to see into the future, and have a good understanding of what happened in the past, brings you multiple benefits,” he tells Chris White during the latest episode of Fruitnet’s conversation series Fruitbox.

Fresh4cast has pioneered the introduction of AI-based yield forecasting software over the past decade, and in doing so has enabled suppliers of items like berries and tomatoes to fine-tune their operations by making them more predictable.

“If you think about the medium to long-term time horizon, this can help you avoid potential shocks to your supply chain, or help you leverage better an opportunity that the market presents – like for example by arranging a promotion or organising your pickers for next season.”

There are also short-term benefits, he continues. “You can, for example, manage your workforce better in the packhouse. Or you can arrange an alternative sales channel to avoid wastage, in case you have an overstock of a product.”

Dall’Olio is keen to dispel some of the myths around artificial intelligence. “AI is not that sentient being that all the sci-fi movies are telling us about. It’s a smart piece of software that is very good at performing large amounts of relatively simple and easy tasks,” he observes. “AI is a tool that allows you to perform multiple tasks with exponential ease.”

Hosted by Chris White in London, Fruitbox attracts a big audience across the global fruit and vegetable business that tunes in 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 [email protected].

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

Read the latest fresh produce industry news at www.fruitnet.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Experience, instinct, maybe even just gut feeling – all of these things play an important part in helping fresh produce companies make strategic decisions.

But in a world where computers are able to collect and even interpret an increasing volume of potentially useful information relating to almost every single link in fruit and vegetable supply chains, perhaps nowadays a more analytical, data-focused approach to business makes more sense.

Giles Barker is chief executive of KisanHub, a company that has developed data analysis software specifically for the fresh produce sector. As Barker explains in the latest episode of Fruitbox, this platform allows produce companies to collect their data in one place and to analyse it, which apparently helps them boost their margins and improve relationships with customers.

“Fresh produce has been lagging behind other industries and I think it’s time to move it forward,” he says.

But the idea isn’t to replace the expertise that lies in the people who run fresh produce companies, Barker is keen to point out: “Gut feeling is something that you develop over many years of seeing the same thing happen, or different things happen each season, so you learn how to take decisions on the fly. Platforms like ours do something similar, the only difference is that the data doesn’t get forgotten. It’s always in the system and then you can make comparisons.”

During the conversation, Barker discusses the enduring importance of human involvement in data analysis, the prospects for connecting consumer and retail demand patterns with production information, and the need to open new opportunities by making agriculture a more digitally connected business.

Hosted by Chris White in London, Fruitbox attracts a big audience across the global fruit and vegetable business that tunes in 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 [email protected].

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

Read the latest fresh produce industry news at www.fruitnet.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Finding a safe and sustainable way to extend the shelf-life of fruit and vegetables represents an important priority for anyone in the business of selling fresh produce.

That’s why shelf-life extension technologies like SmartFresh, first launched around two decades ago to great acclaim in the apple business, have been so instrumental in driving up quality and reducing waste.

Now, having had a major impact not just on apple supply chains but also on items like kiwifruit, plums, and pears, SmartFresh developer AgroFresh is introducing VitaFresh Botanicals, a set of edible, plant-based coatings that promise to have the same impact on other products such as citrus, avocados and mangoes.

As Carles Doménech Rodríguez, the group’s global coatings and disinfectants product lead, explains in the latest episode of Fruitbox, the new range is an important step forward in terms of extending freshness.

“VitaFresh gives retailers a much stronger opportunity to market the best-quality products, and also to improve consumer satisfaction while increasing profit potential,” he explains.

Hosted by Chris White in London, Fruitbox attracts a big audience across the global fruit and vegetable business that tunes in 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 [email protected].

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

Read the latest fresh produce industry news at www.fruitnet.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fresh fruit and vegetables have a central role to play in safeguarding the health of consumers all over the world.

That’s the view of Inci Dannenberg, Head of Global Vegetable Seeds Strategic Marketing for the Crop Science division of Bayer.

Speaking during Fruitnet’s World of Fresh Ideas, a free virtual event for the international fresh produce business which takes place on 26-27 May, Dannenberg outlined various sustainability challenges that the world’s food system faces.

She referred in particular to climate change, limited natural resources, a growing population with diverse nutritional needs, and people’s varying abilities and opportunities to access fresh fruit and veg.

She also underlined the potential for the produce business to work together and drive positive change.

“There has never been a more important time for innovation and collaboration to tackle these challenges,” she commented.

“Fruits and vegetables are an essential part of our nutritional needs as the World Health Organisation recommends five servings a day to prevent disease and to maintain health.”

Hosted by Chris White in London, Fruitbox attracts a big audience across the global fruit and vegetable business that tunes in 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 [email protected].

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

Read the latest fresh produce industry news at www.fruitnet.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For Gilad Sadan, the term ‘box fresh’ has a real resonance. Not just for the fruit and vegetable products housed in the carefully designed packaging his Melbourne-based consultancy Navi Co Global helps to create, but for all kinds of consumer goods – including a newly delivered pair of green Adidas trainers (“sneakers!”) made from recycled materials.

And in a world where environmental concerns mean that packaging’s place in the global supply chain is under more scrutiny than ever, the word ‘sustainability’ also has added significance for Sadan.

As he explains in the latest episode of Fruitnet’s conversation series Fruitbox, buying things that are marketed as sustainable – be it fresh produce or indeed footwear – has emerged over as a way for people to show support for something they believe to be important.

“I think what we’re seeing now is that sustainability is becoming something that consumers are talking about and engaging with, or they want to do the right thing as far as they are concerned,” he says.

“But what the right thing is, is still to be determined. I think coronavirus has done a wonderful job bringing up to the surface what the true meaning of [sustainability] is.”

Post-pandemic, Sadan sees even more of a shift ahead in terms of attitudes to packaging.

“Packaging is still there, but the purpose that it fulfils is different now,” he comments. “The primary and secondary packaging is very different now, because if you’re selling direct to consumers [via e-commerce] then it doesn’t have to be as exciting as it is on the retail floor. The product gets delivered to your house after you’ve made the decision to purchase.”

Hosted by Chris White in London, Fruitbox attracts a big audience across the global fruit and vegetable business that tunes in 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 [email protected].

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

Read the latest fresh produce industry news at www.fruitnet.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Long distances can always be overcome in the fresh produce trade.

Juan Gonzalez Pita has proven that beyond doubt since he co-founded import-export firm Salix Fruits around ten years ago.

From small beginnings in his home country of Argentina, the group has become a key player in several of the Northern Hemisphere’s fresh produce markets.

At the time, together with co-founder Luis Elortondo, Gonzalez was encouraged by what he describes as untapped opportunities for growers in lots of emerging markets, such as the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America.

“People were not paying attention to this,” he tells Chris White in the latest episode of Fruitnet’s conversation series Fruitbox, “so I just focused there, and relying on technology first we started with email marketing campaigns.”

Operating from a tiny office in Buenos Aires, the universal accessibility of new online platforms was instrumental in the company’s initial expansion. But in contrast with previous advances in global communications like the telephone or fax machine, the internet gave Gonzalez a chance to reach people he didn’t even know existed.

“I started making Google AdWords,” he recalls, a move which was relatively unheard of at the time. Soon, this began to generate “a lot of leads for very little money” from interested parties in places like India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Middle East.

Gonzalez goes on to explain how the company, now a major international player with offices in the US, South Africa and Argentina, intends to keep growing in the years to come.

He talks about the importance of people and trust in the business, the challenges of international travel, the pressures of dealing with perishable products, and effect of changing demand in the business.

Hosted by Chris White in London, Fruitbox attracts a big audience across the global fruit and vegetable business that tunes in 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 [email protected].

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

Read the latest fresh produce industry news at www.fruitnet.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

David Hughes, known to many as Dr Food, has just been handed a hypothetical shopping trolley stuffed with several billion dollars, then asked where in the food industry he wants to invest the money.

“Where would I put it? High-value horticulture,” he replies. “I would pick the highest value crop that I can find, and one that is coming over the horizon now at pace.”

Listeners to this week’s episode of Fruitbox can discover the single horticultural product that Hughes, Emeritus Professor of Food Marketing at Imperial College London and a renowned food business expert, regards as the most promising.

That revelation comes at the end of a fascinating discussion about the way we eat and drink, focusing on areas relevant to the fresh fruit and vegetable business like health, sustainability, commoditisation, pricing, and the recent dramatic rise in the number of different retail and distribution models.

“The big change, which is not Covid-19 related, is the increasing number of routes to the consumer,” Hughes comments. “In a relatively short period of time, we’ve seen those proliferate. Yes, there’s a supermarket. Yes, you can get it online. You can be a pure-play Ocado, or a multichannel Tesco or Walmart. And then there are meal boxes, for example.”

Companies that would have been beyond our imagination ten years ago – the likes of HelloFresh, DoorDash, or Deliveroo – are rerouting the supply chain, he adds.

“Suddenly that’s another route to the consumer that’s taking market share from traditional retailers. I think that’s the big struggle and the challenge for traditional supermarkets. If they’re not on these new routes, including online, then it’s bye-bye for them I think."

Hosted by Chris White in London, Fruitbox attracts a big audience across the global fruit and vegetable business that tunes in 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 [email protected].

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

Read the latest fresh produce industry news at www.fruitnet.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Even in Asia, a market with a deserved reputation for being at the cutting edge of grocery ecommerce, the past year has seen major advances in the development of this new retail arena.

That’s the view of Ruth McLennan, commercial director for south-east Asia at Dairy Farm, one of Asia’s largest food retailers with annual sales of more than US$12bn.

“Like all markets, the pandemic has brought online to the forefront for both customers and retailers alike,” she tells Chris White in the latest episode of Fruitnet’s weekly conversation series Fruitbox.

“In Asia, the progress is mixed. Some markets have established online businesses and some others are quite new to the arena. Online is very progressed in Hong Kong, China and Singapore, so in some of our other markets, such as Malaysia, Indonesia and Cambodia, this channel has seen a meteoric rise as customers shift their shopping habits.”

With growth in online grocery shopping as high as 20 per cent in some of those countries, there have been rapid changes to the food retail landscape, McLennan says.

“What’s also interesting is the move from the wet markets to online, as they were closed during the height of the pandemic.”

The pandemic has also highlighted the importance of supply chains, and maintaining supply of the freshest products for customers, she adds.

Hosted by Chris White in London, Fruitbox attracts a big audience across the global fruit and vegetable business that tunes in 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 [email protected].

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

Read the latest fresh produce industry news at www.fruitnet.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Shopping for fruit and veg may soon be a whole lot easier if Amazon’s much-heralded ‘just walk out’ technology becomes a common feature of grocery retailing.

The ecommerce giant opened its first (and indeed second) Amazon Fresh store outside North America in London earlier this month. But what are the implications of this new venture for the way we will shop for food in future?

Retail journalist Miya Knights says the difference is primarily about the shoppers themselves. “It takes the labour away from the customer in terms of having to queue, pick your own goods, bag your own goods, scan them in some cases, then pay for them yourself.”

What’s even more revolutionary, she argues, is the technological barrier to entry. “Amazon has kind of said it will pick and choose who it allows into the store, because you have to download the Amazon Fresh app and download a barcode to gain entry. I don’t there are that many retailers who would open a store and then say it’s not open to everybody.”

Knights is director and publisher of Retail Technology magazine, as well as the co-author of Amazon: How the World’s Most Relentless Retailer will Continue to Revolutionize Commerce.

Speaking during the latest episode of Fruitnet’s conversation series Fruitbox, she explains how Amazon will disrupt grocery shopping in the years ahead, forcing existing market players to catch up – either by making real-world retailing a more enjoyable experience, or by further blurring the lines between physical stores and e-commerce.

Hosted by Chris White in London, Fruitbox attracts a big audience across the global fruit and vegetable business that tunes in 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 [email protected].

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

Read the latest fresh produce industry news at www.fruitnet.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Despite its name, InFarm’s roots are very much in the market. In February 2021, the Berlin-based urban farming startup announced the creation of new growing centres to supply fresh produce to the likes of Edeka, Lidl and Kaufland.

Starting in Germany and extending very soon to the UK, Netherlands, France, Switzerland, US and Canada, the move represents a step change in its operations, scaling up a business model that until now has focused on smaller, plug-and-grow units within retail stores themselves.

Now, as demand for locally grown produce continues to rise, the company is preparing go beyond the 1,500 in-store farms already installed and ramp up production wherever the market demands it.

And with total venture capital funding of more than US$400m to date, it’s certainly shaping up to be one of the world’s most hotly tipped vertical growing startups.

“We are not building farms,” explains InFarm’s vice-president of corporate sales Daniel Kats, speaking on the latest episode of Fruitbox. “We’re taking facilities and deploying models inside. Those automated towers can then grow by demand. If the retailer has more demand, we just add one or two or ten more towers.”

Why now? “The population is growing, the demand keeps growing, and a lot of food production is needed in many large cities,” says Katz. “Therefore we are pushing the button now and starting to grow.”

Now operating in ten countries, and set to launch in Japan this year, the company is also venturing into new products. As a result, it’s ready to become a major supplier in its own right, rather than simply enabling retailers to grow a limited number of items in stores.

“We are growing much more variety and assortment,” Kats adds. “We started with a lot of leafy greens, herbs, lettuces, mixed salads, microgreens, and now we’re doing the first steps into tomatoes, mushrooms, chillies, strawberries in the future, which require naturally much bigger spaces to grow centrally and distribute to the supermarkets.”

Hosted by Chris White in London, Fruitbox attracts a big audience across the global fruit and vegetable business that tunes in 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 [email protected].

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

Read the latest fresh produce industry news at www.fruitnet.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.