Asia Fruit Logistica Dole

Asia is known as ‘a land of brands’ when it comes to fresh produce marketing, and there will be a wide range of exciting new offerings on show at Asia Fruit Logistica.

Asia’s premier fresh fruit and vegetable trade show and information hub returns to Hong Kong’s AsiaWorld-Expo on 4-6 September, with exhibitors from some 45 different countries and regions ready to showcase their product and services.

Following their successful debut at Fruit Logisticain Berlin, BayWa and T&G Global will partner again at Asia Fruit Logisticato present their broad apple varietal range from both Northern and Southern Hemispheres, including the premium Jazz and Envy brands as well as popular varieties from German orchards.

Jazz and Envy will be the focal point of the joint stand, together with T&G Global’s latest offering, Jazz Snackers, a sweet and crunchy smaller apple designed as a snack. Positioned as the ‘little sisters’ of the premium New Zealand-bred Jazz apple, Jazz Snackers are sold in fun-sized pre-packs featuring Jazz cartoon characters.

“T&G Global saw an opportunity in its Asian markets to supercharge sales of smaller apples and grow the brand,” said Jodi Reddell, director of category and marketing at T&G Global. “We launched Jazz Snackers in several key Asian markets in June this year, with positive results. With a focus on families and children, Jazz Snackers offer great portability and convenience along with award-winning Jazz taste.”

Another New Zealand-bred apple variety – Dazzle – will have its own stand at Asia Fruit Logistica for the first time this year. “Last year, Dazzle apples were introduced to Asia Fruit Logistica by some of the licensed marketers, but now that we have commercial quantities of fruit available from New Zealand, we will have an increased presence at the show,” said Steve Potbury, manager of Dazzle’s master licensee Fruitcraft.

With parentage that includes Royal Gala, Braeburn and NZ Queen, the PremA 129 variety – to which Dazzle lends its name, is the latest in a long line of innovative varieties to come from New Zealand. “They’re ideally suited to Asian markets,” Potbury explains. “They are sweet, red, crisp and juicy with hints of watermelon and grape flavours.”

Intellectual property (IP) varieties are driving the development of fruit brands, and Australasia-based Freshmax Group, which launched a dedicated IP business, Innovar, last year, will be showcasing a wide range of proprietary varieties it grows and markets. These include Gold Nugget mandarins, Modi and Dazzle apples, Honey Belle and Piqa Boo pears, and Eureka blueberries. “Asia Fruit Logisticais a great opportunity to promote these brands to our target markets of Asia and South-East Asia, Europe and the Americas,” said Matthew Crouch, general manager of branding and communications at Freshmax Group. “It’s also a great opportunity to showcase the work that Innovar does.”

While apple brands will be in the spotlight, citrus brands will also feature prominently. Global group Capespan will once again showcase Outspan Gems, its soft citrus brand launched at Asia Fruit Logisticalast year, alongside its established Cape and Outspan brands.

ClemenGold, the registered trademark for a premium selection of Nadorcott mandarins that adheres to strict quality standards, will also be exhibiting at the show.“Our company is ideally positioned to match the growing global demand for premium soft citrus,” said Charlene Nieuwoudt, brand specialist at ANB Produce and Marketing, the commercialisation and marketing arm of South Africa-based ANB Investments Group, which owns the ClemenGold brand. “ClemenGold has found favour with various establishments and consumers in China over the past few years.”

Asia Fruit Logistica will feature almost 30 national pavilions this year, bringing together an unprecedented range of products and services from around the world, and making it easy for visitors to meet with leading trading partners in dedicated areas of the show floor.

Information-packed programme

In addition to the unrivalled business opportunities at Asia Fruit Logistica, visitorswill find a wealth of information and insights through an information-packed programme of events.

It all gets underway with Asiafruit Congress, Asia’s premier fresh produce conference event on 3 September. Taking place the day before Asia Fruit Logisticaat the same venue, Asiafruit Congress is the perfect primer to the trade show. Get more information, including programme updates, at the website:www.asiafruitcongress.com

Asiafruit Congress also hosts the presentation of the Asia Fruit Awards, the only pan-Asia awards recognising excellence in Asia’s fresh produce business.

On the show floor at Asia Fruit Logistica, visitors can take part in a range of Hall Forums. Asiafruit Business Forum offers practical ideas and solutions for better fresh produce marketing and business management, Smart Horticulture Asia is a forum on disruptive technology and digitalisation of the supply chain, while Cool Logistics Asia provides a programme of workshops on cold chain management. View the full programme of events here:https://www.asiafruitlogistica.com/en/Visitors/Events/index.jsp

Show goes ahead

Asia Fruit Logisticawill go ahead as scheduled on 4-6 September 2019, with Asiafruit Congress held on 3 September, and the organisers look forward to welcoming visitors and exhibitors to Hong Kong.

Following recent unrest in Hong Kong, Asia Fruit Logisticaconducted an opinion poll among its exhibitors on whether to continue or postpone. A clear representative majority of exhibitors voted to continue with Asia Fruit Logistica2019 on 4-6 September as planned, with Asiafruit Congress held on 3 September, and exhibitors were informed of the decision in writing on Tuesday (20 August).

The forecast visitor attendance based on pre-show sales and redeemed vouchers indicates an attendance level at 80 per cent of the 2018 show. Furthermore, 15 per cent of visitors purchase tickets onsite, so a good visitor turnout can be expected.

Asia Fruit Logistica is providing updates on its social media channels.Visitors can save up to 40 per cent on the price of their tickets when purchasing through the ticket shop versus registering onsite in Hong Kong. Click here to access the ticket shop for Asia Fruit Logistica and Asiafruit Congress:https://www.asiafruitlogistica.com/Visitors/Tickets/