What did we learn at Global Berry Congress 2015? Quite a lot, actually! For those of you that missed it, here's a convenient collection of snack-sized news snippets from this year's event…

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The Chileans clearly see huge potential for their blueberries worldwide. To celebrate the quality of their fruit, they invited Masterchef winner Bart van Berkel to come up with some tasty treats during the official GBC2015 welcome reception.

This year's conference was hosted by Chris White, managing director of Eurofruit.

Robert Verloop of Naturipe Farms (US) told delegates that berry suppliers need to target millennials, who apparently boast US$2trillion worth of buying power.

Eurofruit editor Mike Knowles revealed the results of the first ever annual survey of professionals working in the European berry business. Key findings: quality, consistency, new varieties and margin pressure seen as biggest challenges; growth potential perceived to be highest for blueberries and raspberries in northern Europe; emerging markets like Romania and China hold great promise; opinion divided on whether supply will meet or exceed demand for fresh berries; and the majority see brands as key to growing that demand.

The event's opening conference session focused on ways to maximise the berry category's potential and boost sales through retail channels.

Susanne Hounsgaard of Dansk Supermarked said retailers in Denmark were rapidly recruiting customers to the berry category. However, she noted that retailers still had a lot to do when it came to presentation in stores.

Wyard Stomp of Driscoll’s suggested market penetration rates for soft fruit in the US were still under-developed, representing a “huge opportunity”. He also argued that more work needed to be done on category management. “We have a lack of focus – that sounds like pointing fingers, but there’s so much to develop, so much to learn,” he said.

Laurence Olins, chairman of campaign body British Summer Fruits, said organisations like BSF were "the mood music that helps the industry go forward". Olins was also in combative mood as far as promoting berries within the entire fresh produce business, stating: “Shelf space is the most important thing for a category. We make no bones about it – our competition is other fruits.”

Olins also offered one of the most ear-catching comments of the Global Berry Congress 2015, when he told delegates: “Our message is about health, it’s about beauty, it’s about sex, and berries tick those boxes in so many ways.”

Technological developments and their potential to help the berry business featured prominently at this year's conference.

Andres Armstrong of the Chilean Blueberry Committee told a packed conference room that without a quality product, there simply would not be the demand for the fruit.

Michael Roos, founder of industry service provider Roos, noted that new technology would be needed to promote berries to 13-29 year-olds in the marketing-savvy Generation Y. He pointed to his company’s recipe and shopping app Kochmamsell, which was being used for that precise purpose and at the same time bringing Chilean blueberries to those consumers’ attention.

Carlos Stabile of the Argentinean Blueberry Commission noted that it was important for Argentina to add value to its berry offer by investing in organics and new product development, in the face of rising competition especially from Peru.

Technology featured prominently in a session about boosting consumer interest in berries.

Branding and marketing were helping to push sales of berries and create stronger demand, especially in mainland Europe, said a number of speakers.

More than 350 delegates from 32 countries around the world attended this year's Global Berry Congress, which took place at the Mainport Hotel in central Rotterdam.

An exhibition area featured 18 companies, offering an extra dimension to this year's Global Berry Congress networking breaks.

Among the exhibitors, Dutch substrate firm Legro said it had seen a surge in interest for its products from blueberry growers.

JX Nippon paraded its BerryCool product, which it is aiming at European berry growers who might reap the benefits of its high photosynthetic efficiencies.

Special Fruit showed off a new variety, currently referred to only as FF1201, which has been developed by Fruit Forward and is being trialled right now in Spain.

Dutch berry business SunBerry confirmed plans to move away from solely selling the product of its grower-members, instead looking to build and better its year-round supply of soft fruit.

New Zealand-based machinery firm BBC Technologies revealed it was looking to sell more of its blueberry packing lines in the south and east of Europe during 2015.

Italian packaging firm Infia exhibited with local partner Linpac, reinforcing its strong position in the international berry market with a range of punnets and containers.

Product sealing giants Proseal and its Dutch partner company Sismatec said they were both aiming to grow this year, bolstering their 80 per cent share of the soft fruit market in the process.

California-based Weco, an equipment provider to the blueberry industry, revealed that it is looking to expand into the UK with its optical sorting machines.

On the second full day of GBC2015, around 80 delegates took part in two tours that visited Bleiswijk-based strawberry grower Koolhaas, a number of different supermarkets and the glorious Market Hall.