Lessons From Berlin Trade Show

Like many of you who do a bit of traveling in this great country, I’m constantly struck by the general homogenization of the U.S. It’s more than just the appearance, though a stroll down a street in one commercial district can look pretty much the same as another. (Look: A Starbucks!) It’s also the marketplace of ideas; the topics of conversation are remarkably similar.

Not being much of a world traveler, I didn’t expect such similarities to extend to other points on the globe. But on a recent trip to Germany, that’s exactly what I found. I was in Berlin in part to attend Fruit Logistica, where I joined more than 50,000 people in attending the 2009 edition of the world’s largest fruit and vegetable trade show, which featured 2,288 exhibitors from 80 countries.

Highlighting Sustainability

One theme of the trade shows I attended this past winter in the U.S. was sustainability, and so it was in Berlin. The chemical company BASF had a large booth devoted to the study of the sustainability of a single piece of produce, a Braeburn apple, purchased at a store in Germany. BASF did an analysis of how sustainable it was to source the apple from there in Germany, as well as in Italy, Chile, and New Zealand. By factoring in not only land use, but storage and transportation, the company showed that sustainability is definitely not a black and white issue, BASF’s Annette Pohl told me.

Another chemical company, Syngenta, also highlighted sustainability at their exhibit. Syngenta believes it’s vital their products are used in the proper way, and they want to communicate that to consumers, said the company’s food chain manager, Martin Kodde. “We want to ensure that consumers are happy,” said the Swiss executive, “because in the end, they pay the bill.”

A second theme that was evident was the emphasis on the healthfulness of fruits and vegetables. Hardly a new concept, but it was interesting to see that
vegetable growers in other parts of the world are taking it a step further by promoting food as medicine. Asala Farms, a grower in the Middle East, displayed a variety of vegetables and especially herbs such as sage, coriander, and thyme, detailing the medicinal properties of each. Ishaq Madanat said his company wanted to emphasize that Jordan, in part because of the climate, produces good herbs.

An Italian company, Pizzoli, played up the iodine content of their carrots and potatoes. Elisa Vecchi said 35% of the world’s population lacks iodine, which is an important mineral for the function of the thyroid gland, and they are addressing that problem. They have collaborated with the University of Bologna on a fertilizer that gives a boost of iodine to their carrots and potatoes.

So I took home with me the realization that people the world over talk about many of the same things. That, and everybody’s looking for an edge.