The FRUIT LOGISTICA Innovation Award is an exciting event every year – companies are nominated here that offer innovative products in the international fruit and vegetable sector.
In recent years, for example, manufacturers of new types of packaging systems, new approaches to planting salads, food-safe printing on fruit and vegetables or a small Berlin start-up, Pook Chips – Pook even won the award 2018.
This year again, there were some innovations to marvel at, here are the nominees:
Tomato YOOM™ [The Winner]
Tomatoes from the Netherlands have been on German plates for more than a hundred years – but with the new Tomato YOOM™ the Dutch company Syngenta Seeds B.V. has managed to create not only a visual but also a culinary treat.
This tomato, with its high content of amino acids, appeals in particular to the umami sense of taste and therefore tastes very intense, piquant, meaty and hearty – a real firework of taste.
This innovative product contains all sorts of vitamins and minerals, but just like its strong colour, it also reveals a lot of anthocyanins, which are known for their antioxidant effect in addition to carotenoids.
Another advantage of this new tomato is that it can be grown at any time of the year and also under artificial light – so the cultivation conditions are of course ideal.
All this and the fact that this is something that each of the voting participants could taste is the reason why it is called:
…and the winner is Tomato YOOM™!
Tomato YOOM™ has won the FRUIT LOGISTICA Innovation Award 2020 – congratulations!
SoFruMiniPak® EcoView
The Polish company SoFruPak Witold Gaj produces a chic range of packaging made from renewable raw materials. The packaging is very stable, attractively printed and one hundred percent biodegradable – in other words, completely in line with sustainability.
The viewing windows are made of cellulose and thus allow a view of the inside of the packaging without the use of plastic.
In addition, the packaging is well thought out in terms of stackability and ventilation. They are easy to close / re-seal and are ideal for fruit, vegetables & mushrooms.
TENDERSTEM ROYALE®
The company SAKATA VEGETABLES EUROPE SAS presents a new plant crossing as part of the FRUIT LOGISTICA Innovation Prize 2020. In this case, Chinese kale and broccoli were crossed in a natural way.
The result is impressive – not only is it visually appealing and almost looks like wild broccoli, but the new broccoli can even be eaten uncooked.
It tastes slightly sweetish and is very rich in protein and fibre – fat, sodium and sugar, on the other hand, are hardly represented – a real superfood candidate.
Proband V1000
The also nominated company project Service & Produktion GmbH from Germany showed their Proband V1000 – a portable machine, which is able to place paper banderol’s on fruit, vegetables or other things.
The innovation here is, on the one hand, that the welding of different bands can be done with a quick and uncomplicated change of the frame – on the other hand, that it is possible to process paper bands with a plastic content of less than 5%.
Mosswool®
The company Novarbo Oy from Finland has thought about what it needs to replace the stone wool that is partly used in vegetable growing. Of course, they wanted to replace it with natural and renewable raw materials in order to be sustainable.
The result of these considerations was moss wool panels – as a purely organic raw material, these are ideal for growing vegetables, herbs and fruit and are of course also easily compostable.
Novarbo Oy has designed its portfolio of moss wool boards for all kinds of applications and presents the various products clearly on the company’s website – currently in Finnish, Swedish and English.
New mildew-resistant (high) sweet basil
CN Seeds Ltd, UK has succeeded in modifying the seeds of the popular sweet basil species “Ocimum” so that they are no longer susceptible to downy mildew.
This is a real breakthrough for the producers of this widespread herb, as many harvests worldwide have previously fallen victim to this plant disease. Now the seeds are genetically resistant to downy mildew in an environmentally friendly way.
Sinclair EcoLabel®
With EcoLabel, the British company Sinclair has launched an innovative, compostable labelling solution. The labels can also be removed from fruit, vegetables or other items without leaving any residue.
The printing inks, the outer material and the adhesive are food-safe and the product has already been certified by the Austrian TÜV.
The labels dissolve after twelve weeks and are biodegradable after a total of one hundred and eighty days.
Violì
With the Violì, the company Apofruit Italia Soc. Coop. Agricola has launched a new variety of artichokes on the market. In addition to their captivatingly beautiful colour, these artichokes are characterised by their tenderness. The characteristics of the artichoke were already appreciated by the Romans, which is why it was given the title “Queen of the Garden”.
The new artichoke variety is grown from a hybrid seed and according to exact production specifications – it is available for nine months within each year. This ensures consistent quality and ensures consistency in size and appearance.
On the Violì product page you will find all kinds of tips, delicious recipes and information on nutritional and health properties.
Compostable, flexible, printable packaging
Among the nominees is the company SILBO SP. Z.O.O., another Polish company takes part to the Award this year. Here too, the innovation lies in a new packaging – these fruit & vegetable packaging’s are not only solvent-free but also compostable.
The environmentally friendly packaging is produced on the basis of water-soluble and food-safe paints and adhesives. They consist of recycled paper and/or cellulose films.
To guarantee that the packaging industry can handle this innovation, the company has ensured that the product can be used on both vertical and horizontal packaging machines.