Fresh Food Russia brings together retailers and producers
Dedicated to the production and retail sale of fresh produce, the 7th edition of the international forum Fresh Food Russia 2016 was held November 23-25 at the Moscow World Trade Center.
Organised by BBCG B2B Conference Group, Fresh Food Russia drew top managers from national and regional retail companies and the heads of fresh produce companies.
Burning issues for the sector, such as the development of the fresh category in Russian retail stores and collaboration between retailers and producers, were among the topics discussed there.
Among the 25 expert speakers were Van Vreden (Lenta), Valeriy Vergun (Dixy), Oksana Shuliko (O’Key), Evgeniy Rimsky (VkusVill) and Egor Shumilin (X5 Retail Group).
Vergun said Dixy has moved to closer cooperation with local growers of fresh produce and local brands now account for the largest share of its assortment.
Shuliko, head of the fresh category purchase at O’Key, said one of its current strategies is the development of the cooperation with the local producers.
Vreden, commercial director of Lenta, stressed the importance of close cooperation between suppliers and retailers, direct supplies and modern logistics infrastructure
Rusbaltika founder José Rodríguez discussed data on trade in fresh produce, recent import changes and major trade partners, as well as sharing some success stories.
Forum moderator K. Kamenskaya said the results of the forum confirm the importance of bilateral meetings between relevant stakeholders.
A welcome trend was observed in the relationships between retail commercial departments and key suppliers of fresh produce – they are shifting to long term contracts.
On the second day, B2B meetings took place between fresh produce suppliers and retail buyers, including from companies such as Magnit, Perekrestok, Dixy, Gyperglobus and Azbuka Vkusa.
