Fresh Produce India Awards: winners announced

Leading avocado marketer Westfalia Fruit India, premium mandarin brand Sweet C, and seed-to-shelf agribusiness Namdhari’s Group are the winners of the Fresh Produce India Awards 2026.

The winners of the prestigious awards were announced at Fresh Produce India 2026, India’s premier annual fresh fruit and vegetable business event, taking place at the Trident Nariman Point Hotel in Mumbai on 16-17 April 2026.

The Fresh Produce India Awards are presented by Fruitnet Media International to celebrate excellence and recognise outstanding achievement in India’s fresh fruit and vegetable business. The awards are given in three categories: India Business, India Marketing Campaign, and India Impact.

India Business 2026: Westfalia Fruit India

Westfalia Fruit India won the India Business Award. The grower-importer-marketer was recognised for its pioneering efforts to develop the burgeoning avocado category in India.

Building demand for pre-ripened avocados in India has been key – and Westfalia has invested heavily in supply chain infrastructure to support this. Since launching India’s first dedicated avocado ripening facility in Mumbai in 2023, it has expanded its distribution and ripening to four major hubs servicing 16 cities nationwide.

Westfalia has worked closely with India’s leading quick commerce companies to help transition the market to ready-to-eat avocados. It has also promoted avocado consumption through educational campaigns and culinary events, such as Avocado Festivals held at retail stores and shopping malls.

While primarily sourcing from Tanzania, Westfalia is bringing in avocados from a range of global supply origins to ensure year-round availability. It has also made notable strides in developing domestic avocado production in India, with plantings now spanning 800 acres (324ha) and its first commercial harvest in 2025.

General manager of Westfalia Fruit India, Ajay TG, and Westfalia Fruit’s global business development executive, Zac Bard, accepted the award.

“We’re incredibly proud to receive this award, which reflects Westfalia Fruit’s commitment to building a thriving, high-quality avocado market here in India,” said TG. “This recognition belongs to our entire team and the partners who helped us bring sustainable, world-class produce to kitchens across the country. We’re excited to keep pushing the boundaries of the fresh produce industry and delivering the very best to our consumers.”

India Marketing Campaign 2026: Sweet C

Mandarin brand Sweet C won the Marketing Campaign Award for its impactful campaign, ‘Blue is the New Orange’.

The consumer-focused campaign, which launched in July 2025, tapped into India’s habit of calling all orange-coloured citrus ‘oranges’, including mandarins, tangerines and even santras. The campaign tagline linked to the Sweet C brand’s bright-blue colour, and suggested consumers could make a more meaningful, informed decision when buying ‘oranges’ by picking a fashionable or ‘best’-choice citrus called Sweet C.

Bold, eye-catching branding across packaging, promotions and fruit stickers helped differentiate the product and drive recall. The tagline also playfully tapped into the globally known saying that a particular colour ‘is the new black’, meaning it has replaced black as the most popular colour.

Wellness icon and entertainment personality Malaika Arora hosted a launch event for the campaign at high-end hotel The Westin Gurugram, New Delhi. The event convened influential voices from India’s food, wellness and retail sectors to experience the Sweet C story.

‘Blue is the New Orange’ was singled out for its innovative and effective approach to developing a fresh fruit consumer brand in India. The campaign scored significant success, driven by its cultural relevance, emotional connection with consumers, and bold move to bring a branded fruit into the celebrity and lifestyle arena. 

Rakesh Sharma of PR Agri Fresh, Sweet C’s India import partner, accepted the award on behalf of the Sweet C marketing manager, Adéle Ackermann.

“Winning in India is more than recognition,” said Ackermann. “It’s proof that Sweet C has turned everyday fruit into a brand people truly feel and choose. This award celebrates how Sweet C wants to make mandarins – or little oranges as they are referred to in India – matter in the hearts of Indian consumers.”

India Impact 2026: Namdhari’s Group

Namdhari’s Group was presented with the India Impact Award for its pioneering work to build a seed-to-shelf supply chain in India.

Founded as a seed business in 1985, the company was among the first to promote hybrid vegetable seeds at scale in India, significantly boosting crop yields, product uniformity and disease resistance.

Namdhari’s rapidly expanded beyond selling seeds to build a complete value chain, spanning contract farming with growers, post-harvest handling, and retail. The company was a pioneer in developing modern food retail in India with its Namdhari’s Fresh chain, focused on retailing high-quality, residue-free fruit and vegetables directly from its farms. It has expanded its retail footprint with omnichannel chain Simpli Namdhari’s, offering a broader, full-service grocery offering.

On the production side, Namdhari’s Group has invested heavily in protected cultivation, in breeding programmes for the continuous release of high-performance vegetable varieties, and in developing fresh produce exports.

Namdhari’s Group was recognised for helping to transform Indian horticulture from a fragmented, low-income activity to a more organised, high-value and globally connected sector. In the process, it has delivered significant economic and social benefits, including increased productivity, improved farmer livelihoods, and higher quality food for consumers.

Narinder Singh, Simpli Namdhari’s’ assistant general manager of the fruits and vegetable category, accepted the award.

“We are deeply honoured to receive the India Impact Award – this recognition reflects our four-decade commitment to putting people and the planet before profit, while pioneering GAP-certified, residue-free farming in India,” he said.

“As India’s only 100 per cent vegetarian omnichannel, seed-to-plate retailer and a leading exporter of over 36,000 tonnes, we remain focused on building a responsible and future-ready food ecosystem.”

Presenting the Fresh Produce India Awards, managing director of Fruitnet Asia, John Hey, said Fruitnet was delighted to recognise the pioneering efforts of the winners.

“We warmly congratulate our outstanding winners,” said Hey. “All three are to be commended on their trailblazing efforts. In their own way, they have each set new benchmarks for India’s fresh produce business and helped drive the industry to the next level.”