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Innovation to be unveiled at Fruit Logistica

Fruit Logistica's Spotlight articles cover new and improved products, machinery and processes, systems and techniques, technologies, services, promotions and exhibitor campaigns to be presented at the fair.

An edible coating that extends the shelf life of melons (Decco), a pocket scanner providing the Brix value of a fruit sample (Sunforest), and a polytunnel with automated and permanent ventilation (Voen) are among the global debuts lined up for Fruit Logistica 2016, being held February 3-5 in Berlin.

Also slated to appear make their worldwide premieres are a new line of Pausa Pranzo salads with dressings, self-propelled harvesters for leafy vegetables (Ortomec), and two new attractive and tasty tomato varieties – Goutine (Hazera Seeds) and Belmonte F1 (Southern Seed).

These are among the innovations covered on the Fruit Logistica website in its Spotlight articles. The series provides an overview of new and improved products, machinery and processes, systems and techniques, technologies, services, promotions and exhibitor campaigns to be presented at the fair. The next deadline for submissions is November 30.

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Is bigger better for Australia’s vegetable farms?

Australia’s vegetable growing industry generated approximately AUS $3.5 billion in gross value of production in 2013-14, with 5,300 agricultural businesses that produced vegetables for human consumption. The industry is represented by a large proportion of smaller-sized growers and fewer larger-sized growers.

The challenges and opportunities facing Australia’s smaller vegetable farms are among the issues covered in a discussion paper by industry body AUSVEG.

According to AUSVEG, Australia’s vegetable growing industry generated approximately AUS $3.5 billion in gross value of production in 2013-14, with 5,300 agricultural businesses that produced vegetables for human consumption. The industry is represented by a big proportion of smaller-sized growers and fewer larger-sized growers.

The paper analyses the financial performance of growers by farm size, concluding that the bigger a farm, the more profitable it is likely to be. “This is due to cash receipts increasing by a higher proportion than cash costs as farm size increases, which is exemplified by the costs to receipts ratio,” it says.

“However, the relative expenditure on particular cash costs as a share of total cash costs stays relatively the same for all farm sizes. For example, labour costs tend to constitute approximately a 17-20% share of total cash costs for all farm sizes.”

But there are risks associated with expanding farming operations which need to be considered and it is important to assess the return on investments from any substantial increase in scale of operations, it warns.

Bigger farms better able to dilute costs

Among the benefits for vegetable growers with larger farms is that they are better equipped to dilute their cash costs with the extra revenue received. Also, it tends to be the larger growers that export, providing another sources of revenue to mitigate risks through diversification.

“Australian vegetable growers have been facing a challenging business environment for many years now, with increasing production costs and low retail prices adversely impacting on grower margins. However, by embracing emerging technologies, exploring new avenues for revenue raising and having a forward outlook on business viability, vegetable growers should be able to improve upon their business outcomes,” the paper says.

Larger sized growers should invest in research and development to decrease labour costs, such as by increasing the efficacy of the technology available to them, and increasing their uptake of that technology, it advised.

AUSVEG spokesperson Shaun Lindhe said Australia’s vegetable industry is made up of businesses ranging widely in size, and “while the average profit across all vegetable-growing farms dropped to $39,000 in 2013-14, smaller operations – those under five hectares, and those between five and twenty hectares – actually lost money.”

Lindhe said the paper found that the costs to receipts ratio, which expresses average farm costs as a proportion of their receipts, is notably higher for farms of less than 5 ha compared to all other vegetable growing farms.

“While all vegetable-growing farms struggle with high cash costs, the data suggests that larger farms are in a better position to dilute these costs across their operations and can therefore achieve higher profits, both in relative and absolute terms. This kind of variability can skew analysis of the overall performance of the vegetable industry, making this discussion paper a valuable resource for any vegetable grower looking to gain an accurate idea of how they are performing compared to their immediate peers,” he said.

(The bottom 25%, middle 50% and top 25% categories are based on profiles of vegetable growing farms taking into account area grown, production and financial indicators. The bottom 25% category covers the smallest farm sizes with the lowest output and lowest financial performance.)

Figure 3 illustrates that variable costs for the middle 50% and top 25% of vegetable farms are roughly the same per ton, however the bottom 25% have a considerably higher variable cost per ton. It also shows that total costs decrease as farm financial performance (or farm size) increases and that there is a level of production where variable costs per ton (e.g growing, harvesting and packaging costs) actually decrease.

“This finding is important for smaller vegetable growers who are considering expanding their scale of operations. It provides evidence to suggest that both fixed costs (e.g. rates and interest payments) and variable costs (per unit costs) can both decrease as farm size increases, up to a particular level of production. Grower’s should factor in these decreasing costs when considering farm expansion as it can be an important cost saving in the planning phases of development and expansion,” the paper said.

“It can be seen in Figure 7 that hired labour is the largest cost of production for vegetable farms less than 5 ha in size, accounting for an almost 21% share of total cash costs in 2013-14 – an increase of approximately 71% in absolute terms since 2011-12.”

sources:
“Analysing Australian vegetable growers’ financial performance by farm size“
Cost challenges force smaller vegetable growers into the ‘red’

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Fresh cuts and berries among priorities for BAMA

The Oslo-based BAMA trading group is expanding its offering of organic produce and Norwegian-grown vegetables and is committed to helping people choose healthier foods.

The Norwegian market leader for sales of fresh fruit, vegetables, berries and potatoes, BAMA Group (BAMA Gruppen AS) last year posted consolidated sales of BNOK 13.5 (€1.45b). Through its five business areas – including Grocery and HoReCa – each year 500,000 tons of fresh fruit, vegetables, berries, drinks and flowers – from a network of more than 1,300 producers in Norway and abroad – pass through its terminals on their way to 15,000 customers in Norway. Berries are BAMA’s top fruit category in value and bananas in volume, while for vegetables it’s tomatoes in value and potatoes in volume.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Competition in the Nordic grocery market is razor-sharp, Oslo-based BAMA said in its 2014 annual report, but in its favour is the growing interest Norwegians have in healthy diets, natural foodstuffs and food of Norwegian origin. BAMA Group CEO Rune Flaen says it’s the health trend that’s fuelled significant growth in products such as berries, avocados, spinach, root vegetables and kale. (In the last three years, sales volumes have shot up 856% for sweet potatoes, 1386% for kale and 80% for spinach.) BAMA’s overall volume growth for fruit and vegetables in 2014 was 2.6%.

Also favourable is that fruit and vegetable consumption continues to rise in Norway, in marked contrast to the rest of Europe. However, despite climbing 35% in 20 years, consumption in Norway remains below official dietary recommendations. The growth potential for BAMA’s product groups is therefore significant, BAMA said in the report. With excess weight emerging as Norway’s main health challenge, it has adopted a strategy of actively working to improve public health through increased focus on healthy diets and exercise.

Berries: 15% annual growth target

BAMA has certain focus areas for which it sets yearly growth targets. Berries is one of these, with a target of 15%, and by late September sales were already up 13% in volume. BAMA is the Norwegian market leader for berry sales and over five years logged spectacular growth of 140% to reach about 18,000 tons last year.

Instead of taking big volumes from external suppliers, BAMA now sources berries through its Rotterdam-based partner Nature’s Berries. “We also work directly with major Netherlands-based strawberry producers, cutting out expensive middlemen.”

Aiming for 20% growth in fresh cuts

BAMA Industry is one of BAMA Group’s five divisions and produces freshly-processed products, including fresh ready to eat/heat food, for the group’s HoReCa and Grocery business customers. It generated strong sales growth in 2014, a third of which came from products launched in just the last four years. Among these, new vegetable wok mixes and salad products, including two organic salad mixes, showed the most growth.

BAMA sees great promise in such convenience foods. Some European countries have market shares of up to 30–40%, but in Norway it’s still under 5%. “We see a huge market there in the future,” Flaen said. BAMA plans to grow the category through high speed product development, reliable quality, space management and good marketing. “We already have about 15% growth in fresh cuts grocery this year (first 38 weeks of 2015). The target for the category is 20% yearly growth, so we are well on track,” he said.  

Demand for organic, short-travelled & Norwegian produce

  • BAMA’s organic offering includes carrots, potatoes, onions, broccoli, bananas, apples and citrus.
  • Organic produce represents about 3% of BAMA’s total fruit and vegetable sales volume.
  • Demand for Norwegian-grown organic products rose 29% in 2014.

BAMA reports that its consumers show increasing interest in organic, short-travelled and Norwegian produce. In 2014, 60% of products were locally produced, no more than two hours away from the sales outlet. BAMA is collaborating with Gartnerhallen, Norway’s largest farm cooperative, to increase its proportion of Norwegian produce.

Future focus on smaller formats

In terms of goals for BAMA in the next 12 months, Flaen said one is to work on obtaining even better quality across all products. In doing so it will be examining logistics and temperature control, and working a lot on product development. Acknowledging there’s more focus today on food waste, he sees a need for BAMA to develop more products in smaller formats, “so a single household can have their solutions.”

“There will be a lot of focus on smaller packs in years to come,” he said.

source: BAMA annual report 2014 and interview with BAMA CEO Rune Flaen

JB

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Traffic light pepper packs remain popular in UK

Retail sales of peppers in the UK were up 10.1% in volume but down 6.6% in value for the 52 weeks to October 11 compared to the same period a year before, Kantar Worldpanel data shows.

Retail sales of peppers in the UK were up 10.1% in volume but down 6.6% in value for the 52 weeks to October 11 compared to the same period a year before, Kantar Worldpanel data shows.

Altogether, 115,720 tons of peppers were sold, for a total spend of £291.4 million (€413m).

The top seller in the pepper category was the traffic light pack, which with just over 50,000 tons sold accounted for 43% of all pepper sales. Sales of this pack were up 20% in volume and 9.4% in value, to nearly £112 million (€413m).

It was a different story however for the next biggest sellers, large mixed packs and red peppers. While sales of the large mixed packs (which accounted for 36% of total sales) were up 14.3% in volume (to 41,798 tons), they were down 8.3% in value, and those of red peppers were down in both volume, by 9.6%, and in value, by 16.7%.

Comparing the two periods, specialty peppers saw by gar the biggest growth in volume and in value, with respective leaps of 120%, to 987 tons, and 46.8%, to £4.7 million (€6.67m). The next highest growth, and off a slightly bigger base, was seen with Ramiro/pointed peppers, which rose 25.4% in volume to 2,597 tons and 11.3% in value to just over £15 million (€21.4m).

All other categories slipped, however.

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Whirlpool seeks patent for crisper said to keep fruit, veg fresher

Whirlpool Corporation says it has developed a crisper which controls ripening so as to extend the shelf-life of the fruit and vegetables in it. The invention hinges on the removal of ethylene, a chemical released by many fruits and some vegetables that hastens ripening.

Whirlpool Corporation says it has developed a crisper which controls ripening so as to extend the shelf-life of the fruit and vegetables in it.

The invention hinges on the removal of ethylene, a chemical released by many fruits and some vegetables that hastens ripening.

In international patent application documents published by WIPO, the US-based home appliance giant says that typically the special compartments found in fridges for storing fruit and vegetables – crisper drawers – are closed. This means that as the produce ripens, ethylene accumulates in the drawer and accelerates the ripening of surrounding produce, thereby reducing shelf life and freshness.

Whirlpool’s solution is to modify the atmosphere in the drawer via a photocatalytic process that converts ethylene into carbon dioxide and water. The result is not only is the ethylene reduced, the carbon dioxide produced limits the ripening of the produce it surrounds.

The invention achieves this via a crisper with a photo-catalytic element – featuring titanium dioxide TiO2 – and a source of UV light, preferably of the LED type. That’s because ethylene (and other volatile organic compounds) present in the air at low concentrations can be oxidised to carbon dioxide and water when exposed to particles of titanium dioxide irradiated with near UV light.

The lighting would ideally be subject to an on/off algorithm and an infrared gas sensor used to directly control ethylene concentration and indirectly monitor the carbon dioxide content.

Source: https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=US152767151

Whirlpool said one of the objects of the invention is to be “cost-effective both during the manufacturing process and when functioning during the entire life of the refrigerator.”

It also said that, in general, fruits release more ethylene than vegetables during the natural ripening process and that many vegetables are sensitive to ethylene.

Foods that emit ethylene include: apples, avocados, bananas, pears, peaches, plums, cantaloupes, honeydew melons, mushrooms and tomatoes.

Vegetables that absorb ethylene include: brassicas, leafy greens, beans, carrots, cucumbers, eggplant, peas, peppers and potatoes.

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Catalonia’s Bon Preu group on way to beat €1 billion in sales

Catalonia-based retail group Bon Preu is set to end the fiscal year (February 28) with turnover of around €990 million, up 11.4% on the previous year, and aims for €1.1 billion the following one, according to its president Joan Font.

Catalonia-based retail group Bon Preu is set to end the fiscal year (February 28) with turnover of around €990 million, up 11.4% on the previous year, and aims for €1.1 billion the following one, according to its president Joan Font.

Since its origin in 1974, the group has grown to now span about 5,000 workers and about 200 outlets, under the banners Bonpreu (supermarkets), Esclat (hypermarkets), EsclatOil (petrol stations) and iquodrive (e-commerce), Font said at an executive breakfast in Barcelona on November 12.

 Joan Font speaking

Discussing the strengths of the group, which has its headquarters in Osona, he said one is its heavy focus on fresh produce. “We have to work on and promote this even more,” he said. “We have the best fresh produce sections and believe in its future.”

However, Font made the point that while in other countries fresh cut fruit is eaten in the street, that is not the case in the local market where the concept is not understood.

Esclat hypermarket opened in Terrassa in September, 2015, at which point Bon Preu had 118 supermarkets, 44 hypermarkets, 36 gas stations and 5 minimarkets.

From among the three supermarket categories of discounters, specialists and generalists, he said Bon Preu is a generalist. But given the industry trend of segmentation in demand, the group’s banners are increasingly focused on very specific segments. “We can’t claim to be the best at everything,” Font said, adding that customers are multichannel and multiformat and that can’t be expected to change.

According to the newspaper La Vanguardia, Font also signalled that looking ahead to 2016, the group plans to open 10-12 new stores and would not rule out locations beyond Catalonia, though such a move would be given careful thought.

Sources:
“Intervenció de Joan Font a l’esmorzar executiu de PwC i La Vanguardia”, Bon Preu press release in Catalan
“Bon Preu prevé cerrar el actual ejercicio con una facturación de 990 millones”, article in La Vanguardia in Spanish

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Hemköp on why berries matter so much to Scandinavia’s supermarkets

Scandinavian retailers are the frontrunners of the European berry market, as their fresh produce departments are responsible for no less than 13% of the total supermarket sales.

Scandinavian retailers are the frontrunners of the European berry market, as their fresh produce departments are responsible for no less than 13% of the total supermarket sales. So says a press release from berry giant Driscoll’s in which Hemköp sales manager Joakim Bäckstäde and Driscoll’s commercial director Wyard Stomp talk about why the high value berry shopper is here to stay and the potential of this promising market. Their interview is reproduced below.

What makes the berry category interesting?

Bäckstäde: “Berries are fresh, delicious and healthy. It’s fun to eat and share them with your family and friends. Furthermore they are impulse driven products. Buying berries can trigger other purchases, or as we like to say; berries have a lot of in-store ‘friends’, such as ice-cream, yoghurt and cake. By combining these products in the shelf, we stimulate cross-selling.”

Stomp: “Berries are a perfect match with recent consumer trends and can make any ordinary moment more special.”
 

Why is the berry shopper valuable?

Bäckstäde: “Next to berries they also love other premium products such as dairy and pastry, which makes them extra appealing for our supermarkets. I am positive that the berry shopper is the shopper of the future and will influence many other categories in a positive way.”

Stomp: “It’s our mission to gain the shopper’s trust by offering them delicious, fresh and beautiful berries all year round. This is something we can only do by working closely together with our retail partners.”

Hemkop Driscoll's.png

Why are berries Sweden’s favourites?

Bäckstäde: “That’s simple, because they are healthy and tasteful! Scandinavian people really care about health and the environment. Berries remind them of the warm summer months and they fit very well with other popular Swedish products such as soured milk, yoghurt, quark and cottage cheese.”

How do you tempt shoppers to buy more berries?

Bäckstäde: “Recently we have installed special coolers in almost all new and renewed stores. This way our berries stay fresh for a longer period of time. By placing the coolers in premium spots in our supermarkets, shoppers cannot miss out on these fruits while visiting the store.”

Stomp: “We want to do more for our customers than just offering berries. That is why we support our partners with shopper insights and advise them on how to create a successful in-store berry presentation.”

How do you promote berries outside the local season?

Bäckstäde: “We promote berries at least once a month. This is something we do through our flyers, in-store promotions and our own social media accounts. By offering tasty recipes to our shoppers and making them aware of the joy that berries can bring to the table, we have already seen an impressive sales growth outside the regular season.”

What are you expectations of this promising category?

Bäckstäde: “I expect a lot of the berry category; a growth in demand and more packaging diversity, that will seduce shoppers to buy more berries. My personal goal is to have berries on full focus in all our stores every single day, not only during promotion periods.”

Stomp: “I will be proud as people at every office location and at every school around the world will enjoy berries during their lunch break.”

Read an interview with Daniel Månsson, Axfood’s general manager of fruit and vegetables, which also covers berries: Inside Swedish retail giant Axfood

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Tesco chief calls for retailer-government parternships to tackle challenges

Dave Lewis Tesco boss

The rise of e-commerce was among the challenges for retailers – and nations – that Tesco CEO Dave Lewis raised during a speech today in London.

Saying that “increasingly the world is mobile first, “ Lewis said major online retailers report more than half of their UK transactions are completed on a smart device. “In the UK, digital retailing has doubled over the last five years to become a £10bn business.”

“As a business, we expect continued growth…the challenge for us is how to make our online business of tomorrow as profitable as our offline business yesterday,” he said.

But there are significant challenges the growth of digital  poses for the nation, too. “Digital operations have no real community footprint, far fewer employees and a far lower tax contribution.That should be a dilemma for the Exchequer. Without rebalancing to reflect digital business models the physical side of retail pays a higher and higher proportion of the total tax bill.

“Furthermore it will incentivise a swifter shift to infrastructure light, low employment business with little interaction with communities,” he said.
 

The growth of limited range retailers and convenience shopping

Lewis then went to talk about the rise of limited range retailers and of convenience shopping – in terms of physical shops – which he said have both affected profitability and growth. Limited range retailers have doubled since 2010 and the convenience channel is up 5% again this year.

“Our big stores are also seeing a high proportion of convenience shopping trips – 76% of Tesco convenience trips take place in our Extras or Superstores. But I don’t see this as a challenge per se – I see it as a shift in what customers want or need – and it’s our job to respond.   

“What I do see as a challenge is that whilst the customer was heading in one direction the industry was heading in the other…between 2007 and 2014 it added around 35 m sq ft,” Lewis said, going on to talk about the pain caused by having to close stores and halt construction on others.

 

The burden of higher structural costs when profits are at a low point

Lewis said the real challenge for the sector is that it is struggling with structural cost at a time of historically low profitability. While two years ago food inflation was running at 4%, now it’s -2.4%. That’s great news for customers but puts significant pressure on parts of the retail industry.

“In supermarkets profitability has sunk from 5% to 2% in five years and now we face significant new cost pressure. This is a potentially lethal cocktail,” Lewis said, going on to say that meanwhile property values have fallen but business rates are up. Tesco’s own business rates bill has climbed well over 35% in the last 5 years. “That’s an enormous pressure. Shops have closed. Businesses lost. Jobs sacrificed,” he said.

And on the UK’s National Living Wage, Lewis called for fuller debate, saying that while Tesco was supportive of the living wage when announced, “our concern, and the concern of many colleagues, is that there is pressure to increase base pay at the expense of benefits. We don’t think this is the answer.”

 Tesco boss Dave Lewis

Call for more government-industry consultation, collaboration

Lewis went on to discuss the need and – opportunity – for the retail industry and business to work closely with government on three issues.

“Firstly, I would encourage the industry and Government to sit down at the highest level and consult on the multiple policy changes that are affecting the industry, to share together the consequences of higher rates, the living wage and initiatives such as the apprenticeship levy,” he said.

Secondly, he called for partnership on employment, skills and training challenges.

And Lewis said health and food education is the third area with real potential for partnership and innovation.

“Millions of Britain’s shoppers are weekly Tesco customers.  We have more than 40 million transactions a week. And when we reformulate, we can remove billions of calories from their shopping trips.”

Tesco estimates it has helped save around 1,500 lives through joint efforts to reduce salt and its action on soft drinks means the average customer is now buying 20% less sugar in such drinks, examples of just some of Tesco’s health initiatives. “We make large scale contributions to heart health, cancer research and the fight against diabetes,” he said.

“I want to partner and innovate more on health. Not because I want to burnish Tesco’s image but because two thirds of supermarket shoppers want me to,” he said.

“We are uniquely placed to nudge millions of people every week towards healthier choices. Our customers want it and the government can benefit greatly from it… if we can meet in the middle ground. Nurturing growth – social value alongside economic value – in an era of extraordinary change needs a new level of collaboration.”

Lewis was speaking at the CBI conference. The CBI is the UK’s premier business lobbying organisation, providing a voice for employers at a national and international level.

Read the speech: http://www.tescoplc.com/index.asp?pageid=17&newsid=1242

Images: https://www.flickr.com/photos/tescomedia/albums

 

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Snapshot of the apple market in Taiwan

Taiwan’s love story with fruit remains undiminished

A new report by the USDA’s Global Agricultural Information Network provides valuable insights into the apple market in Taiwan.

Here are some of the repoort’s highlights:

Apples and Taiwan

Apples are the most heavily consumed imported fruit in Taiwan, which has one of the world’s highest per capita consumption rates.
But apples are losing ground to other imported fruits such as cherries, grapes, peaches and berries.
Fuji is the overwhelmingly favourite apple variety, accounting for 90% of total retail.
Red & Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Gala, Pink Lady, Ambrosia and Aurora make up the remaining 10th of retail apple sales.
Washington apples are extremely popular. (Taiwan one of the top 5 export markets for Washington apples.)
Though eaten year round, significantly more apples are bought in Taiwan in autumn and winter – the prime production months for northern hemisphere growers. (During the summer months, local tropical fruits, such as mangos, papaya, and lychees, dominate.)
Reasons for this include that the apple is perceived as a ‘cool weather‘ fruit and also it is incorporated in several festivals held over this period.

Taiwan’s apple imports

With just 1,506 tons in 2014/15, Taiwan’s declining apple production meets less than 1% of domestic demand so it is reliant on imports but is a relatively mature market for fresh apples.
In 2013/14, it imported a record high 160,756 tons of apples (valued at nearly US $240 million) but in 2014/15 apple imports fell to 156,007 tons (valued at nearly $239 million), with importers expecting 160,000 tons for 2015/16.
Taiwan currently applies a 20% tariff on all apple imports.

Market share of Taiwan’s leading apple suppliers in 2014/15:

  • US: 41.2% (64,264 tons)
  • Chile 29.8% (46,522 tons)
  • Japan 14.9% (23,260 tons)
  • New Zealand 10.7% (16,673 tons)

United States

The US share of the Taiwan import market for apples began a long-term downward trend in 2000 but despite this decline, the US is expected to remain the dominant supplier of apples to Taiwan over the next few years.
In 2014/15, US apple exports to Taiwan increased nearly 29% from the previous year, to 64,264 tons ($79.1 million).
Thanks to an expected record harvest in Washington, which typically accounts for 90-95% of total US apple exports to Taiwan, the US is forecast to hold its position as the leading supplier of apples to Taiwan in 2015/16 with exports of 65,000 tons.
GAIN says importers prefer US apples for the high-quality and consistent supply.
‘New’ rivals for the US are Japan, New Zealand and Korea.

Japan

Japanese apples, accounting for about 15% of the total apple import market in Taiwan, grew 40% in 2014/15 to 23,260 tons thanks to depreciation of the Japanese yen and Taiwan consumers’ decreased concern about potential radiation leaks from nuclear power plants in food products from Japan.
While the US,Chile and New Zealand are still focused on supplying Taiwan market with traditional varieties, Japan is having great success introducing less common varieties in order to maintain the ‘premium’ image and justify higher prices.
It is not uncommon to find Japanese fruit in the market priced at 10-20% higher than other competitors.
Despite Japan being ranked third in terms of import volume, when comparing import value, Japan’s share increased to 28.4% last year and it enjoyed an export value of $2,910 per ton – 137% higher than that of the US at $1,230 per ton.
“This higher margin clearly indicates that Japanese apples continue to dominate the high value gift giving market in Taiwan due to their premium quality and excellent reputation in the perceptions of both traders and consumers,” the report says.

China

China remains prohibited from exporting fresh apples to Taiwan due to phytosanitary concerns.

General fruit consumption in Taiwan

The vast majority of people in Taiwan view fruit as an important part of their daily diet.
Fruit is often consumed as a snack or dessert.
It is the most common food served to visitors at home or in the office.
Unless bought solely for personal consumption, the colour, size, and general appearance of fruit are typically the buying decision factors to traders and customers in Taiwan.
The “best-looking” fruit, typically sold in gift packaging, fetches the highest prices.

Fruit as a gift in Taiwan

People send food products in gift packages to their friends and relatives during 3 major lunar-year festivals:

  • Chinese New Year (usually in February)
  • the Dragon Boat Festival (usually in June)
  • the Moon Festival (usually in September).

Fuji apples replaced Red Delicious many years ago as one of the most popular gift items during the lunar New Year holiday in Taiwan. Thanks to their colourful appearance and relatively larger size, Japanese apples are the most popular gift item during this season.
 

Source: Taiwan: Fresh Deciduous Fruit Annual November 4, 2015 Attaché Reports (GAIN)

Images:
1. Taipei at night, with dreamy sky by Chris: https://www.flickr.com/photos/63138333@N00/314845827
2.  Taiwan-taipei vista de noche ciudad by n23club: https://pixabay.com/es/taiwan-taipei-vista-de-noche-ciudad-497003/

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Carrefour open its first City store in a French airport

Carrefour’s first City convenience store located in a French airport is based in the departures lounge of Paris-Orly’s south terminal. Open 6am–10pm, 7 days a week, it stocks nearly 3,000 items.

Carrefour has opened its first City convenience store located in a French airport.

Based in the departures lounge of Paris-Orly’s south terminal, the new outlet has 200 m² of sales area and stocks nearly 3,000 items.

In a press release, Carrefour Group said the store – open 6am–10pm, 7 days a week – features:

  • a wide selection of organic products, as well as hot and cold snacks and gluten-free products
  • Carrefour brand products – including a special area for Reflets de France regional products – as well as national brand products
  • on-site bread slicing
  • the same prices as those found in town centre City stores

Carrefour said the Orly City store features a wide selection of products to meet customers’ day-to-day shopping needs, as well as what they need to eat on-the-go: grocery products, fruit and vegetables, home maintenance products, ready-to-cook/eat products, snacks, etc. It said the store will also contribute to the airport’s business dynamic and help local employment – 6 employees will be recruited from neighbouring towns.

“By entering into this new partnership and including a leading name that has become synonymous with retail in France, Aéroports de Paris is seeking to provide travellers and visitors – as well as the airport’s employees and partners – with as broad a range of stores as possible. We want to ensure that our airports are accessible to all of our customers,” said Aéroports de Paris CEO Augustin de Romanet.

According to Carrefour CEO Georges Plassat: “This initiative that we have launched with Aéroports de Paris is a shining example of Carrefour’s unique multi-format profile. In many countries, we anticipate our customers’ needs, creating stores that are specifically designed to meet their requirements, selling products and providing services designed to make their lives easier.”

JB