Holland ahead of Italy in the FRUIT LOGISTICA INNOVATION AWARD (FLIA)

Berlin, 1 October 2013 – The Netherlands are world champions! They may have yet to win the football World Cup, but when it comes to the FRUIT LOGISTICA Innovation Award (FLIA), the Dutch are clearly one step ahead of the competition. In the history of the FLIA, almost 25% of all entries have been submitted by Dutch companies – Italy follows in second place with 16%. Are the Dutch more innovative than the rest of the world? Or are they just savvy enough to recognise the fantastic marketing and promotion potential that the FLIA offers? Companies nominated for the FLIA can certainly count on high-impact international publicity. Submitting an entry is free of charge and it takes less than 30 minutes to fill out the application form. Companies or organisations that have introduced an outstanding innovation to the market between 1 November 2012 and 31 October 2013 are eligible. Entries may be submitted online by 10 November 2013. “It is important for companies to know that the FLIA is not restricted to new products – they can also enter new services, and technical novelties”, says FRUIT LOGISTICA Project Manager Christoph Göring. A panel of experts nominates ten candidates from the entries submitted. These nominees have the opportunity to showcase their innovations in a special exhibition space during FRUIT LOGISTICA (5-7 February 2014). The FLIA is the most important award presented by the fresh produce industry and has become a major attraction for media and industry professionals. The winner is determined by votes from FRUIT LOGISTICA trade visitors and is announced on the final day of the exhibition. More than 58,000 industry experts from some 130 countries are expected to attend FRUIT LOGISTICA 2014. “Enough to fill a football stadium”, Christoph Göring adds with a smile. “We will be watching eagerly to see whether Oranje will make another great showing in 2014, the year of the World Cup.” Previous FLIA winners: 2006 – “Salanova” lettuce (Rijk Zwaan), 2007 – “Vitamini’s” vegetable snack (FresQ/Rainbow Growers Group), 2008 – “Intense” – beef tomato (Nunhems Netherlands BV), 2009 – “Sweet Green Paprika” (Enza Zaden), 2010 – “Arils Removal Tool” – pomegranate seed removal tool (Mehadrin Tnuport Export), 2011 – “Limeburst Fingerlimes” Australian citrus fruit (Limeburst Fingerlimes), 2012 – “Angello – Sweet & Seedless Pepper” (Syngenta), 2013 – “City-Farming” a concept that makes it possible to grow young plants from seeds in 35 days in custom greenhouses using specially designed LED lighting (Staay Food Group)