Almost unnoticed, FreshPlaza.de celebrated its 10th anniversary in May this year. Exactly a decade ago, we sent out the first newsletters in the German language from the Dutch town of Tholen. Under the motto "Better late than never," we take a one-time look back at 10 years filled with memorable moments and articles.
In mid-May 2015, the site officially went live, and the first newsletters were sent out, soon followed by the first interviews with German traders. Earlier that year, we visited several wholesale markets, including those in the Ruhr region, Frankfurt, and Munich. We also published a separate photo report featuring German exhibitors at Fruit Logistica in Berlin for the first time. Other events we attended in that first year included Anuga, DOGK in Düsseldorf, and expoSE, most of which we still cover on location to this day.
© Hugo Huijbers | FreshPlaza.com
From the archives: German participants at the DOGK and Fruit Logistica 2015. Over 10 years later, many of them are still working in the industry, albeit now with a different employer. Clockwise: Mario Ebel is still working in nuts and southern fruits, Rainer Dony and Matthias Aysche of Polytrade, Kronen chef Stephan Zillgith, Daniel Bädorf of Edeka (now ELO), Carsten Knodt, and Labinot Elshani (now Landfrisch AG).
In the early years, FreshPlaza.de was represented by Philip Peusmann, Folke Markenstein, and Rosanna Sprogis, respectively. The latter still works in a supporting role within the editorial team. At the end of 2017, Hugo Huijbers joined as a full-time editor for the German market. In the following years, first Luisa Heim joined Team Deutschland, followed by Jonny Diep. Currently, besides Hugo and Rosanna, the German-language editorial team consists of Daniela Metzeler and Katharina Gusinovs.
© Hugo Huijbers | FreshPlaza.com
Clockwise: Uwe and Lisa Niklas of the mushroom trade, Niklas, Heiko Faby of Faby Frucht at the stand of the Marktgemeinschaft Altes Land, Kevin van IJperen (Wittenberg Gemüse) and Hugo Huijbers at the Fruit Logistica 2018, and Karin Willamowski and Dr Sebastean Schwarz of DKHV.
With the exception of a short break, Hugo has now been working at FreshPlaza.de for 7.5 years, and still enjoys it. "What has stayed with me most are the countless wholesale markets we've visited in recent years, from Hamburg to Munich and from Berlin to Düsseldorf. To me, this represents the fresh produce trade in its purest form, where you can see, smell, and taste every kind of product. My goal has always been to give a voice to a wide range of companies, not only the large multinationals but also the smaller intermediaries who are often underrepresented, yet play an equally vital role in the chain."
© Hugo Huijbers | FreshPlaza.com
Clockwise: Marko Wunderlich of Friweika, Klaus Dubenkrop and Bernhard Fuchs of Seefrucht/SalemFrucht, Peter Boley of Brocker Möhren (now Dreesen Kräuter), and Birger Exner of Behr AG (now Rolker Ökofrucht),
"As a Dutchman working in a different language and a completely new sector for me, it certainly wasn't easy at first to build a network. But I'm proud that, through hard work, we've succeeded, and that FreshPlaza.de is now recognised as an established trade medium. This is certainly not only my achievement, but also that of all my German and international colleagues at Fresh Publishers, and of course, our loyal advertisers, interview partners, and readers and followers of FreshPlaza.de."
© Hugo Huijbers | FreshPlaza.com
Clockwise: Artur Lammert from PLUG Verpackungs-GmbH (now Dreesen Kräuter), exotics trader Ingmar Heuer with Andreas Allenspach (then Coop Schweiz), pater familias Mike Port from Port International, and a very young Josef Hofmeister from GEO Bayern.
For more information:
www.freshplaza.de
