Amsterdam Produce Show attracts 100 exhibitors

The first ever Amsterdam Produce Show and Conference (APS) took place November 2-4, 2016 at the Dutch city’s iconic Westergasfabriek and was organised and hosted by the creators of the New York Produce Show and the London Produce Show.

The event kicked off with a cocktail party on November 2, followed by a thought leaders breakfast panel, trade exhibition, chef demonstration theatre and educational seminars on November 3. On the final day of the APS participants could take part in industry tours, visiting retail, production, trade or logistical companies.

The APS programme was organised around four core themes – innovation, education, sustainability and health – and designed to provide an opportunity to think about how high level global concerns will drive success in the produce trade in years to come.

According to the organisers, the seminar focus was on the unique lessons that can be learned from the role that the Netherlands plays in the global produce industry. A quarter of all global trade in horticultural produce is estimated to go through Holland.

The seminars touched on a host of different subjects ranging from increasing consumption, the impact of agribusiness, corporate social responsibility, new ways to determine quality, cooperation through food clusters, organic farming or reduction of food waste.

Although from a different perspective, many presentations covered future business models, the need for communication, co-operation and the creating value.

The trade exhibition gave over a 100 Dutch and international trade exhibitors direct access to a wide range of produce buyers from the retail, foodservice and wholesale sectors. Among them were:

– Jan Willem van Wyk, Jurgen Smith and their colleague starting the European branch of The Grape Co.

– Ryan Nichol from Coolsan and his colleague bringing ChillSafe – which reduces bacteria, mould and excess ethylene in storage and transit – to Europe.

– NatureSeal applied to fresh cut bananas preventing them from discolouration for up to 4-5 days.