For VLAM, there will be no easing into autumn this year. Instead, their schedule is packed: A working visit to London, Asia Fruit Logistica, a trip with companies to the early market in Bologna this week, and finally, of course, Fruit Attraction in Madrid from September 30 to October 2. “It’s good to keep busy,” laughs Nele Van Avermaet of VLAM. “This year, several companies have expanded their presence at the Madrid fair, so our stand there keeps growing year after year.”
© Jannick Flach | FreshPlaza.com
Katrien De Nul, Nele Van Avermaet, and Betty Slingers from VLAM at the previous Fruit Attraction
It’s a hectic period for VLAM, the Flanders Agricultural Marketing Board. Still, Nele is upbeat. “The visit to London went really well, and the companies attended Asia Fruit Logistica with four companies in a pavilion of about 100 square meters. It remains an important trade fair for us and for the businesses that join us to showcase their products to all of Southeast Asia. In recent years, more and more Belgian products have gained access to Asian markets, so exporters are increasingly focusing on that region. That makes it a great opportunity to return.”
The schedule continues in mid-September. “On September 11 and 12, we’ll be at the early market in Bologna, Italy, as part of a European program to promote Conference pears there,” Nele explains. “In recent years, Italy has become more of an importing country, not just for pears but also for other products, which opens up a lot of new opportunities. That’s why we’ll be running a three-year promotional campaign there, with Conference pears as the main focus. This year we’ll be able to showcase a very good harvest. Then, at the end of September, comes DOGK in Düsseldorf, followed shortly after by Fruit Attraction in Madrid.”
New location for the VLAM pavilion
Among all these events, Madrid is still the big finale of the autumn trade show season. “It remains the most important fair of the year for us after Berlin. Once again, several companies are increasing their participation, and our pavilion will grow to 511 square meters. On top of that, you have the separate stands of Coöperatie Hoogstraten and BelOrta, which are not included in that number. So once again, we’ll have a strong presence at the show. We won’t have new participants this year; we’ll remain at 22 companies.”
Nele also sees Madrid as a great complement to Fruit Logistica in Berlin. “The two fairs work well together, because they take place at different times of the year. Madrid is becoming more and more popular with companies, since the timing fits better with their product assortment. But this growth definitely doesn’t mean that Berlin is losing importance.”
This year, however, the VLAM pavilion will be in a new location. “In the past, we were in Hall 6 with the Dutch and French, but this year we’re moving to Hall 4, together with the Italians. The organizers have created two large European halls. It’s a bit of a wait-and-see what that will mean for us. I don’t think it will be a disadvantage, because we’ve actually got a nicer spot in the hall. What we’re really hoping for, though, is finally getting a fixed location for several years in a row. In Madrid, we’ve had to move around quite a bit, which sometimes makes it harder for people to find us. Still, I don’t expect problems. With our new stand concept, which we first introduced in Berlin, we’ll definitely stand out again.”
For more information:
Nele Van Avermaet
VLAM
Tel.: +32 02 552 80 32
[email protected]
www.vlam.be