If you're still eager to visit some horticultural companies at Fruit Logistica in Berlin, you're too late. The show is open until 4, but in the final hours, there's not much happening. No worries—we've got you covered. Over the last few days, we visited the event, and this Monday, we'll present you with a photo report. But first, here are some sneak peeks—and a bit of background on why horticultural companies are actually in Berlin, which is a trade show for the fresh produce industry after all.
Team Heliospectra
LetsGrow.com.
Greenhouse industry
We are, of course, the greenhouse growers and the technology companies focused on greenhouse horticulture. How did we end up at a trade show in Berlin? To understand, let's rewind a century.
The first Grüne Woche took place in 1926—next year will mark its 100th anniversary. Today, it is the international trade fair for food, agriculture, and horticulture - a consumer event. Fruit Logistica started in 1993 as a new trade fair entirely focused on fruit and vegetable exporters and importers. According to some early Belgian participants, the first Fruit Logistica events were still hosted in the "catacombs" of Grüne Woche. The link between the two fairs was evident. "When we stepped out of our hall, we found ourselves among the cows."
Over the years, it rapidly expanded from a local German event to a large international one. Since 2004, it has been independent of Grüne Woche, and became the most important meeting place for the fresh produce trading industry.
Following the fresh produce trading companies and greenhouse growers with their own sales, breeders and horticultural suppliers also started to find their way to the fair. As more fresh produce trading companies invited their growers, more and more technical suppliers believed Berlin was the place to be. More and more technology companies began appearing in the Dutch Pavilion, and in the international halls.
A lot of visitors for Maryniaczyk
Hi team Bom!
Technological suppliers
In the first photo report by our Dutch sister website GroentenNieuws from the fair in 2007, technology was hardly present. But in the following years, horticulture gradually gained more visibility. Our first real horticulture report from Berlin was in 2013. Not coincidentally, this was just after the last Horti Fair. That international trade fair for horticultural technology shut down, and as a meeting place for traders and international growers, Fruit Logistica saw an increase in technology companies. For some years, they were found in halls 6.1, 7.1, and 8.1, but for the past three years, hall 3.1 has been dedicated to greenhouse technology.
With the rapidly growing event market, the question always remains: where do you find the growers and potential clients you're looking for? At Fruit Logistica, the combination of fresh produce trade, growers who come to Berlin to maintain relationships, and technology works fairly well. However, while some suppliers praise the tech-focused visitors of hall 3.1, others prefer to be among the diversity of the fresh produce industry itself. Over the last few years, almost all coconut substrate suppliers, for example, have moved out of the "catacombs," as they prefer to be where the blueberry growers are rather than among the high-tech tomato growers.
Enough about the past - stay tuned for a 2025 photo report on Monday!
