Landgard persuades its visitors with innovative marketing ideas for fruit and vegetables

After three eventful trade fair days, the growers, retail partners and Landgard itself all agree: In 2018, Fruit Logistica more than lived up to its reputation as the world's leading trade fair for the fruit industry.

Immediately upon entering the Messe Berlin through the North Entrance, tens of thousands of national and international trade visitors were put in the right mood for a fair like this: Landgard greeted them in style in Hall 20 with "Fresh Berry Power in Berlin", sporting an original Berlin bear more than two meters in height, made up out of fruit and vegetables.

Welcomed this way, many visitors not only took the opportunity to take a photo of Berlin’s trademark at the Landgard stand in Hall 20, B-02, but also immediately started asking questions about the numerous new and expanded successful sales and licensing concepts with which Producer Cooperative Landgard stages the products of its regional, national and international producers at the point of sale.

The Landgard booth

"In the heart of Fruit Logistica 2018, we once again had many good, stimulating and promising discussions with representatives of our important trading partners and fruit and vegetable specialists from Germany and abroad," said Armin Rehberg, CEO of Landgard eG, summarizing his experiences at the Berlin fair.

"The focus was on topics that will significantly influence our future over the coming years: sustainability, digitization, internationalization - and exciting new ideas, concepts and licenses for the POS."

Landgard_Fruit Logistica_Sustainability Talk: Dr. med. Christian Weseloh (Managing Director of the Federation of Producers Organizations Fruit and Vegetables), Carsten Knodt (shareholder of Neurather Gärtner), Sara Nuru (entrepreneur and model), Armin Rehberg (CEO of Landgard eG), dr. Svea Pacyna-Schürheck (Head of Quality Management and Sustainability at Landgard), dr. Christian Geßner (from the ZNU Center for Sustainable Management at the University of Witten/Herdecke)

At Fruit Logistica, in the presence of the Ambassador of the Republic of Colombia, María Elvira Pombo Holguín, Landgard announced the establishment of a joint venture which will have its own representative office in Colombia. "This new company, directly in the centre of the Colombian growth market, again marks an important stage for us in the further expansion of Landgard's overseas business and in the internationalization of our co-operative producer base for the first-hand procurement of goods with our own member companies," said Armin Rehberg. "Further important decisions regarding our future international orientation could, before to the launch in Colombia, be finalized at the Fruit Logistica. Of these we will inform all of you over the coming weeks.”

Premiere for the Landgard sustainability talk
Aware of their special responsibility as a market leader and being one of the winners of the German Sustainability Award 2018, Landgard had deliberately made sustainability the focus of their trade fair presentation at the Fruit Logistica 2018. In Berlin, the producer cooperative showcased sustainable concepts such as IssSo and licensing cooperations with entities such as ‘Der Sendung mit der Maus’, showing people how many supposedly small steps can eventually lead to great sustainability successes in the fruit and vegetables industry.

The traditional Landgard Green Hour on Thursday was all about environmentally friendly products and resource-saving ideas. "What could fit better into a Green Hour than a talk on sustainability," said Landgard CEO Armin Rehberg when welcoming the visitors. “On the one hand, we want to raise awareness of key sustainability issues with this panel discussion. On the other hand, we also want to show that sustainability is really everyone's business.”

For the premiere of the Landgard Sustainability Talk as part of the Fruit Logistica, the producer cooperative had invited renowned as well as expert participants to the Landgard booth. Entrepreneur and model Sara Nuru described in a vivid and certainly very charming way how she came up with the idea to enter the fair-trade coffee business together with her sister, under the label "nuruCoffee". Dr. Christian Gessner from the ZNU Center for Sustainable Business Management at the University of Witten/Herdecke took the opportunity to call on companies to make sustainability a measurable and tangible factor and to take on more responsibility for both man and nature. The standards of the Center for Sustainable Business Management (ZNU) "Sustainable Business", which the companies Landgard Obst & Gemüse GmbH & Co., Landgard Blumen & Pflanzen GmbH and Landgard Fachhandel GmbH & Co. had all acquired on time for Fruit Logistica 2018, are offering a good starting point for all of this.

On behalf of the ZNU, dr. Gessner also presented the concordant certificates to Armin Rehberg, as proof that his subsidiaries had all made the grade. Dr. Gessner made it perfectly clear: "Sustainability is a matter of attitude - and it can also be an important innovation driver for companies." Christian Weseloh, Managing Director of the Federal Association of Producers Organizations Fruits and Vegetables eV, described how consumers will benefit in a variety of ways from their purchasing locally produced fruit and vegetables, and how the BVEO supports this.

Carsten Knodt, Landgard producer and shareholder of Neurather Gärtner, also pointed out that sustainable production of fruits and vegetables can be economical as well. And Dr. Svea Pacyna-Schürheck, Head of Quality Management and Sustainability at Landgard described how Landgard, as a modern grower's cooperative, supports its members in the implementation of sustainable ideas in fruit and vegetable cultivation. "As a cooperative, our capital consists of our regional, national and international producers with their high-quality own products," Armin Rehberg emphasized during the Landgard Sustainability Talk. "That's why we have set ourselves the goal of making the various facets of sustainability tangible in our Landgard Sustainability Strategy with the four pillars: 'green products', 'climate, energy and the environment', 'employees' and 'society'. Because we are convinced that sustainability does not mean over-regulation. Rather, sustainability regarding flowers and plants as well as fruits and vegetables means alternative packaging, environmentally friendly products, innovative cultivation methods - and an authentic, fair and honest communication on the subject.”

For more information:
www.landgard.de