FRUIT LOGISTICA Innovation Award for "Intense" tomatoes from Nunhems

Impressed by the new "Intense" beef tomato, trade visitors voted Nunhems Netherlands BV the winner of this year's FRUIT LOGISTICA Innovation Award. Michel ten Hacken, Global Head of Marketing & Sales, received the coveted award on Saturday from FRUIT LOGISTICA Global Brand Manager Gérald Lamusse and Fruchthandel Magazine Managing Director Robert Broadfoot. "Intense" has firm flesh and an extremely dense structure that allows the tomato to retain its juice when cut. "This award proves that we're on the right track", said ten Hacken. "We've seen a high degree of acceptance among the trade visitors at the show and we'll continue to raise awareness of our product among vegetable growers and retailers". The Metro Group will be the first chain to offer "Intense" to customers in Germany.

This was third time that the FRUIT LOGISTICA Innovation Award was conferred by Messe Berlin and Fruchthandel Magazine. Second place in this year's competition went to the "Urgurke" from Eosta/Enza Zaden (Netherlands) followed by the strawberry-shaped "Tomatoberry" cocktail tomatoes from Tokita Seed (Japan).

..one of ten Apple iPod nanos 4GB!

The annual FRUIT LOGISTICA Innovation Award – FLIA 2008 – is presented for outstanding innovation in the fresh produce sector and its service industries by Messe Berlin and FRUCHTHANDEL MAGAZINE. It is awarded to the product voted by visitors to FRUIT LOGISTICA 2008 as the best innovation of the year from a shortlist of 10 products which have been nominated by an expert jury.

Visit the special Innovation Award stand in the Foyer between Halls 20 and 21 at FRUIT LOGISTICA 2008

Product            Deux® 

Company         Rougeline-Odelis, Marmande, France 

Stand              For more information please visit us — Hall 22 Stand E-11 

Website           www.rougeline.com

Deux® is a new marketing and packaging concept for strawberries. Two different varieties of strawberry are offered together in one box with two drawers. Both varieties are characterised by their particularly high quality, both in terms of appearance and also from a taste perspective. At the same time they differ greatly from each other. The Ciflorette variety is very sweet and appeals to children in particular, while the Gariguette variety is very aromatic and is considered to be the traditional French strawberry. It is a variety which appeals rather to adults.

This unique way of offering the product enables the consumer to taste two varieties of strawberries at the same time. The 180 g of strawberries per tray represent an ideal quantity for getting to know each variety. In addition the box is biodegradable and therefore environmentally friendly.

In this way strawberries are a naturally convenient product which can be consumed on the move or as a snack.

Deux® is marketed both via the classic food retail trade and also through specialist shops.

Market launch: April 2007

Product            Eris Filter 

Company         Miatech Inc., USA 
                             
Stand              For more information please visit us — Hall 5.2 Stand D-10

Website                www.miatech-advantage.com

The Eris Filter is an antimicrobial air filter used to eliminate airborne pathogens and ethylene gas. The filter is used to prolong the life of food and other perishable products, increase food safety, remove odours, and create a clean environment in refrigerated containers and trucks during storage and transportation.

The filter is encased in a high blend of non-woven polyester that is coated with an anti-microbial agent. This covering gathers up any particles before or after the filter. The filter itself is constructed of a nonwoven fibre that is blended with oxidizers and absorbent particles. The absorbent particles are point-bonded to the fibre without the use of adhesives to maximize the benefits. The filter is finely woven to also provide an essentially dust free operation. The outer layer of the covering has four Velcro hook fasteners that will match up with a self adhesive Velcro strip for secure fastening.

The entire filter is approximately 183 cm long by 32 cm high and 2.5 cm thick. It is designed in a manner that will not disrupt the intake airflow.

Market launch: November 2006

Product            Fresh Tapas 

Company         The Greenery International, Nethertlands

Stand              For more information please visit us – Hall 3.2 Stand A-05

Website           www.thegreenery.com

Fresh Tapas is a complete range of fresh and healthy fruit and vegetable products. The target group is the “out-of-home” market. The Fresh Tapas brand includes fresh fruit and vegetable salads as well as various snack vegetables. Fresh Tapas are available from both food retail traders as well as from vending machines.

There are three Fresh Tapas product groups: Pure Fruit, Fresh Salad and Vegetable Snack. In turn there are different types of Pure Fruit available, both as salads and as individual fruit. The salads are: strawberry, apple mix, melon mix and tropical mix. The individual fruits are: pineapple, apple, black grape, kiwi, orange and water melon. The programme is rounded off by three salad mixes and eight different cut-vegetable snacks. They are available in resealable cups.

A new sales opportunity is presented by the Fresh Tapas Vending Machine which can be erected at sites which are not traditional sales points for fruit and vegetables, such as petrol stations, schools, railway stations or canteens.

Market launch: November 2006

Product            Frujis - The Crunchy Fruit 

Company         Nameo GmbH, Italy 

Stand               For more information please visit us – Hall 2.2 Stand D-05

Website                www.naemo.com  

Frujis are crunchy fruit crisps made of 100% South Tyrolean organic apples or from 100% organically grown pineapples from Sri Lanka. They are completely free from additives. The fruits get their taste, aroma and their crunchy consistency from a gentle and quick drying procedure which ensures that vitamins, minerals and fibre are retained. The patented and resealable tin makes sure that the aroma is protected and the product remains crispy.

Transport packaging: 12 single variety tins in a display box which serves as a counter display stand. Alternatively 60 mixed tins for floor display with crown.
Tin with 28 g of apple slices (corresponds to 2 apples)
Tin with 36 g of pineapple (corresponds to 1 dwarf pineapple)

The target groups are both, children and adults, who wish to eat healthily and therefore also want to consume natural and nutritious products when enjoying a snack. In this manner children are introduced to fruit products in a playful way and get used to eating them.

Market launch: February 2007 

Product            Intense™ 

Company         Nunhems Netherlands BV 

Stand               For more information please visit us — Hall 8.2 Stand A-08

Website           www.intensetomatoes.com

Intense™ is a beef tomato with full, firm flesh which demonstrates a very dense structure. This ensures that no juice is lost when the fruit is cut, making it generally very suitable for salads and especially appropriate for the fresh-cut sector. In addition, the tomato always looks fresh and appetising due to the fact that all the juice is retained.

All in all, the consumer or the fresh-cut industry gets more tomato – more flesh and pulp, and less juice. On the one hand this means that costs are reduced. On the other hand productivity is significantly increased. And the tomato stays naturally fresh for longer. The loss of fluid after 10 days corresponds to that of a normal tomato after one day.

But direct enjoyment for the customer is also enhanced because consumers no longer need to worry about their clothes getting messy when eating the tomato as a snack when they are out – either when eating the tomato fresh or when eating it as part of a sandwich-filling or in a salad.

Intense™ is thus a modern convenience tomato, oval in form, dark red in colour, with a size of 57-67 mm and a weight of 90 to 100 g per fruit.

Market launch: March 2007

Product            Iodi 

Company         Pizzoli S.p.A. 

Stand              For more information please visit us – Hall 4.2 Stand B-05

Website           www.pizzoli.it 

Iodi is a potato for the fresh food market which is characterised by particularly high iodine content. This means that this product belongs to the category of functional foods which has been booming for several years. During the growth phase the iodine is absorbed into the potatoes via the leaves. 200 g of this variety of potato provide 30 per cent of a person’s daily iodine requirements.

Iodine deficiency occurs widely in western industrial countries although iodine is an important component for the formation of thyroid hormone. In turn the thyroid is responsible for controlling many vital processes such as metabolism and growth.

Iodi potatoes are available to consumers from food retail outlets in 1.5 kg bags. They are available to the trade in boxes of 12 bags.

Market launch: July 2007 

Product            MTsens 

Company         Montalbano Technology S.p.A., Italy 

Stand               For more information please visit us — Hall 4.2 Stand A-10 

Website           www.montalbanotechnology.com

MTsens is a low-cost device designed to monitor perishable industrial products or materials by recording and reporting the duration and intensity of exposure to heat. The device is an RFID smart label with the shape and the size of a credit card which can be applied to boxes and pallets as well as to rounded surfaces. MTsens records data on exposure to heat with user-programmable frequency for the entire duration of the product life. Also it measures time with high accuracy and applies a time-stamp to each item of gathered data before storing it.

The device can be programmed with user-defined algorithms that are specific to the monitored product or material. The only limitation is the available memory size. Through elaboration of raw data, MTsens is also able to produce synthetic indicators of the organic conditions and of the efficiency of the monitored product.

The thermal history of the monitored product is stored in the internal non-volatile memory and can be read at any time during the device life cycle and even after the battery has run out. MTsens responds to interrogations by readers compatible with the standard RF-ID ISO 15693 (13.56 MHz).
The device is disposable and can be thrown away once his life cycle finishes.

Market launch: September/Oktober 2007

Product            PerfoTec Lasersystem 

Company         Sealpac GmbH, Germany 

Stand               For more information please visit us – Hall 5.2 Stand B-15 

Website                www.sealpac.de 

The PerfoTec Lasersystem is a microperforation packaging system which enables the protected atmosphere in the packaging to be precisely regulated. Compared to traditional techniques such as pre-perforated films or needle perforation, this system permits an extremely high degree of perforation accuracy.

The laser perforation system used is technically sophisticated and extends the shelf life of packaged fruit and vegetable products by between three and seven days. This furthermore reduces losses throughout the entire supply chain. The quality of the product received by the consumer is significantly improved.

Dimensions (L x W x H): 800 x 635 x 300 mm

Market launch: May 2007

Product            Tomatoberry 

Company         Tokita Seed Co., Ltd., Japan 

Stand              For more information please visit us — Hall 10.2 Stand A-05 

Website           www.tokitaseed.co.jp

Tomatoberry is a new variety of tomato. It is characterised by a unique shape which is reminiscent of a strawberry. It has very fine skin and an extremely sweet taste. It also has a fine aroma. With a Brix value of between eight and ten it features a high sugar and amino acid content and is rich in lycopene, an important antioxidant.

The Tomatoberry is a little larger than a normal cherry tomato. The average weight is 20 g.

Seeds of the Tomatoberry are available both to professional cultivators and to hobby gardeners. The Tomatoberry may be cultivated in diverse ways - both outdoors and in greenhouses. The Tomatoberry is therefore available to normal consumers through the classic food retail trade, while those who have the opportunity and who wish to do so, can also grow them themselves.

Market launch: November 2006

Product            Original Cucumber 

Company         Eosta BV / Enza Zaden Beheer BV, Netherlands 

Stand              For more information please visit us – Hall 3.2 Stand C-10 /  
                                                                                                      Hall  1.2 Stand D-05 

Website               www.eosta.com / www.enzazaden.nl

The Original Cucumber is a long forgotten variety of cucumber. It is characterised by its dark green colour, medium size, rough peel, freshness and juiciness. This variety has been rediscovered or developed by Eosta with Enza Zaden Beheer and the University of Wageningen particularly because of its special characteristics and appearance, and in particular because of its natural taste. It is only grown organically.

The Original Cucumber is cultivated in four countries: in Holland, Bulgaria, Spain and Greece. This means it can be supplied 12 months a year.

Currently the Original Cucumber is supplied to the trade in boxes of 12. In the future, however, there will also be customer-specific units. They will be sold to the consumer at POS individually wrapped in packaging reminiscent of the French baguette bag. This packaging can be completely composted because it is made of environmentally friendly PLA. The weight of the Original Cucumber lies between 300 and 400 g.

In 2008 the Original Cucumber will also be offered in food retail outlets as well as health food shops, with emphasis on the German, British and Scandinavian markets. There will also be initial tests in the USA.

Market launch: June 2007

FRUIT LOGISTICA introduced a new industry award to recognise outstanding innovations in the international fresh produce sector and its service industries. The FRUIT LOGISTICA INNOVATION AWARD was an outstanding success and generated enormous media coverage all over the world, including extensive reports on national television channels.

The FRUIT LOGISTICA INNOVATION AWARD 2008 will be presented in February 2008 at the world’s leading international trade fair for fruit and vegetable marketing in Berlin, in recognition of outstanding innovation in products and services which have been introduced to the market in the last twelve months. The competition was open to all companies exhibiting at FRUIT LOGISTICA 2008 which have commercially introduced an exceptional innovation to the market in the period from 1 November 2006 and 31 October 2007.

The ten best innovations were selected by an expert panel of judges. These ten nominations are be presented to more than 45,000 trade visitors at FRUIT LOGISTICA 2008 in a special exhibition area. Visitors to the fair are be invited to cast their votes for the best innovation of the year. The winner will be announced on 9 February 2008 at a special awards ceremony.

The annual FRUIT LOGISTICA Innovation Award is presented jointly by Messe Berlin GmbH and FRUCHTHANDEL MAGAZIN (Düsseldorf).