Fruit Innovation under the limelight in Berlin

12.02.2015

The trip to Berlin proved a great success for Fruit Innovation, the new international exhibition for fruit and vegetables taking place in Milan from May 20th to 22nd. The initiatives promoted on the occasion of Fruit Logistica marked the debut of Francesco Pugliese, the newly appointed president of Fruit Innovation. Pugliese, who is also president of ADM and CEO of Conad, took part in the Fruit Innovation presentation at the Italian Embassy in Berlin on the evening of February 4th and in the meeting of the exhibition’s organizing team earlier that afternoon. Both events were also attended by Luca Bianchi, head of the Department of competitive, agro-food quality, horseracing and fishing policies of the Ministry of Agricultural Policies.
Pugliese clearly explained the reasons why Milan was chosen as the seat of the new fruit and vegetable international exhibition, highlighting that Milan is also the primary focus of ADM and its partners and expressing his concern for local, near-sighted policies damaging the Italian fruit and vegetable industry and its reputation. "The Fruit Innovation project - said Pugliese – isn’t just a three-day exhibition buy a year-long commitment. It will reflect the support and guidance provided to the fruit and vegetable production chain by the organizing team, which includes top-level representatives from production, trade and distribution. We plan to give a clear sign, effect changes that benefit each link of the chain starting from production and solutions that promote agreements to work as a system and cut costs. Innovation is a word that must be filled with meaning. Fruit Innovation is the result of this project and answers the need to provide Italy with a single, top-level showcase in the year when the whole world will be looking at the Expo 2015".
Luca Bianchi summarized the Ministry’s guidelines for fruit and vegetables and commented that Fruit Innovation is part of a shared strategy and has what it takes to become the “most suitable showcase” for a comprehensive international debate on regulations and innovation, as required by the market.
The Italian Embassy accommodated over 300 representatives from the Italian and international fruit and vegetable industry for the event organized by Fruit Innovation in cooperation with Confagricoltura and the Italian Chamber of Commerce for Germany. After the greetings of the Italian Ambassador to Berlin Pietro Benassi and the speeches by Mr Pugliese and Mr Bianchi, speakers also included Fiera Milano CEO Enrico Pazzali, the president of the Expo 2015 scientific committee Claudia Sorlini and Confagricoltura council member Nicola Cilento.
Pazzali underlined the international profile of Fiera Milano, one of the world’s leading exhibition organizers, and its determination to make Fruit Innovation a successful event by capitalizing on its full potential for economic growth as one of the most representative shows in Italy in terms of production and exports. 
Claudia Sorlini emphasized the close connection between the central themes of the Expo 2015 and the concept of innovation in a sector like fruit and vegetables which should symbolize health, physical well-being and environmental safety. Besides their physical proximity (Fiera Milano halls are located just 400 meters from the Expo) Fruit Innovation is also culturally very close to the Expo. This bodes well for the show and exhibiting companies, whose success on the market must result from product quality and healthiness.
Nicola Cilento believes consumption has to be supported by "enabling companies to compete with other European producers and creating opportunities that are closer to the real needs of the industry”. "We support Fruit Innovation - he explained – because we believe in the importance of playing as a team at a truly international level, both away and at home”. 
The last speaker at the Embassy event was the president of the Italian Chamber of Commerce for Germany Emanuele Gatti, who wished Fruit Innovation a great success.
During the meeting of the Fruit Innovation organizing team Ipack-Ima CEO Guido Corbella welcomed President Pugliese’s appeal to provide ongoing support to the industry throughout the year, addressing major issues and suggesting solutions. The Berlin meeting of the Fruit Innovation organizing team saw the debut of Valentino Di Pisa representing Fedagromercati. 
Fruit Logistica offered the Fruit Innovation staff the chance for a strong promotional action on the Italian and global markets. 497 Italian companies were present in Berlin: this impressive number reflects the fact that Germany is the first target market for Italian produce (with a 26% share in the first ten months of 2014) as well as, until recently, the lack of an international trade show in Italy. Fruit Innovation was created to fill in that gap.