Fruit Attraction 2021, the sector’s main business meeting is back

Fruit Attraction will take place for the 13th time from 5 to 7 October, with a healthy number of participants. To be more specific, a total of 1,300 companies from 44 countries, 21% of which are first-time attendees, will equal the numbers achieved at the 2018 edition and will include 82% of those at the last face-to-face version in 2019. More than 42,000 square metres will be occupied by fruit and vegetable suppliers in Halls 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 at IFEMA MADRID, transforming the city into the fruit and vegetable capital of the world. The data show outstanding interest from Latin America, with growth of more than 31%, as well as more French and Italian companies coming on board. At the same time, the number of registered visitors is very similar to that recorded for the last meeting, with trade professionals expected from 105 countries.

These figures show the high level of interest and support Fruit Attraction has gleaned throughout the fruit and vegetable sector , as a key tool for internationalising the sector, and a meeting point for all the trade professionals working throughout the supply chain.

The trade fair, organised by IFEMA MADRID and FEPEX, has already received confirmation from all the production areas and regions of Spain, as well as from international participants from 44 countries. The Fresh Produce segment will account for the majority of stands, with a total of 65% of stalls at Fruit Attraction, while the Auxiliary Industry sector will also be out in force, with 28%. In addition, companies specialised in logistics, mobility, IT and cold chain management for fresh and frozen foods will be in abundance at Fresh Food Logistics. The Biotec Attraction and Smart Agro area will also be significantly enlarged. All this is evidence of the entire sector's firm commitment to the success of this special retail edition.

Buyers’ Programme and 'Guest Importing Country`

Fruit Attraction is designed as an international stimulus and expansion platform for participants.  To enable this, IFEMA MADRID, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fishing and Food and the ICEX, has once again made a significant investment in the International Guests Programme, and has attracted more than 600 buyers from 67 countries to Madrid, including retail purchasing managers, importers and guest wholesalers from all over the world. 

In addition, there is the ´Guest Importing Country´ initiative, which has the support of ICEX, with Brazil, Ukraine, South Korea and Belarus as protagonists on this occasion. This event will encourage trade relations between these two non-EU markets and the European Union, and will be accompanied by a full programme of round tables, guided tours of the fair, and B2B sessions.

Exhibition areas at the Fair

This Fruit Attraction will include some new features, such as Fresh Food Logistics, a new sector platform featuring logistics, transport and cold chain management for fresh food, which will be located in Hall 6 .

Likewise, and to highlight research, technology and digitisation as fundamental keys to future growth, Hall 5 will bring together the three solutions and services areas related to agricultural sector innovation: Biotech Attraction; Smart Agro and Smart Water&Energy.

Meanwhile, Ecorganic Market, a specialised area for marketing and exporting organic products in Hall 8, and the Fresh Produce and Auxiliary Industry, whose offering will be spread throughout the fair, will also be given a high profile.

The Innovation Hub - in the nexus of Halls 8 and 10 - and Foro Innova are the areas devoted to innovation and business developments in the sector. In this regard, the fair will host the Innovation Hub Awards, which have become a benchmark event to support entrepreneurship in the sector.

On this occasion, a total of 16 products and services in its three categories have been selected as finalists. Fresh Produce -Comfresh Iberian S.L.; Cuadraspania, S.L.; Florette Iberica Alimentaria; Sat Bonnysa; Jumosol and Setas Vallondo; F&V Industry -A.P. Moller – Maersk; Classpack; Estudi Graf, S.A.; JBT; Looije and Maf Roda Agrobotic, and Sustainability and Commitment Actions Apot-Consorzio Melinda/Consorzio la Trentina; Agromediterránea Hortofrutícola; Grupo AGF Fashion, S.L., and Manter Packaging Ibérica, S.L..

And of course, this landmark event for the sector will have the Factoria Chef section, a gastronomic space within Fruit Attraction with attractive demonstrations and show cooking.

A knowledge centre for the sector

A comprehensive programme of conferences makes Fruit Attraction a major knowledge centre for the sector, with sessions exploring a wide variety of content, which prominent participants and speakers.

The Fruit Forum spaces in Halls 3, 4 and 6 will be venues for congresses, presentations, round tables and conferences of great interest to the sector. Among the high-profile conferences to take place during the fair is Biofruit Congress whose fourth edition will be on the subject of sustainable demand.

Also within Fresh Food Logistics, Fresh Food Logistic The Summit, organised by IFEMA MADRID and Alimarket will address a standardised and 360-degree vision of the refrigerated market. The fair will host the session The strategic value of the agri-food sector: before and after the pandemic, organised by the Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture (ALAS) and the Business Association for Plant Protection (AEPLA). It will also host Biotech Attraction, a new stimulus for agrobio innovation: the future of vegetable production, organised by Biovegen, which will analyse disruptive projects and companies in agrobio innovation, and R&D financing opportunities. And, finally, AGRO 4.0 Opportunities: Next Generation EU for a smart sector, organised by Organiza BIA3-Grant Thorton.

In addition to these, there will be some other conferences: What a sustainable products sector could be like - Challenges and solutions for 2030, organised by Shaffe-Southern Hemisphere Assoc. Fresh Fruit, as well as The proposal for a new law on containers and packaging and its impact on the fruit and vegetable sector, courtesy of Mercados Magazine, and within agricultural policy, Fruitnext- the new Pac and the leftovers from the fruit and vegetable sector.

The spotlight will also be on sustainability, with sessions on Innovating towards greater sustainability in the packaging of fruits, greens and vegetables, organised by PACKNET - Spanish Technological Platform for Packaging and Packing; and The sustainability challenge in the fruit and vegetable sector: how to integrate economic, social and environmental returns, organised by the Complutense University of Madrid.

Foro Innova, an initiative promoted by the Fruit Attraction to give greater visibility and recognition to participating companies’ R+D+i work rounds off the offering with its presentations.

The fair will also host the award ceremony for the winner of the first Fruit Attraction Podcast Contest: stories of # agroinspiration, in support of new communication formats within the agri-food sector. The awards ceremony for the 11th APAE and Fruit Attraction Journalism Awards will be hosted at the event, the latter of which recognises prestigious international media in the fruit and vegetable sector.

The fair will also bring the entire fruit and vegetable community together with the Fruit Attraction LIVEConnect platform, a digital tool that enhances and complements the on-site event, with new features to enhance both initiatives. This will make Fruit Attraction far more than a face-to-face industry encounter, offering a new hybrid value proposition that adds the possibilities provided by technology to the effectiveness of the face-to-face encounters.

IFEMA MADRID, a safe space

When it comes to the measures adopted at IFEMA MADRID to keep everyone at the fair safe, a strict protocol has been devised that includes all the necessary measures to keep the flow and movement of attendees orderly, capacity monitoring has been introduced, and the corridors within the halls have been made substantially wider. Likewise, digital registration has been adopted to eliminate direct contact, and the latest technologies for health safety, and especially for air renewal in halls, have been deployed.

Once again, Fruit Attraction 2021 will be supported by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food at its opening ceremony, which will also once again be chaired by Minister Luis Planas.

This year’s fair, organised by IFEMA Madrid and FEPEX, will take place in Madrid from Tuesday, 5 October to Thursday, 7 October, from 9.30 am to 7.00 pm, and until 5.00 pm on the last day.