15 Feb 2025 Fruit Logistica’s Innovation Awards 2025
The global fresh produce industry gathered earlier this month in Berlin for the annual Fruit Logistica expo… and here’s news of its winning products….
Attractive varieties, clever marketing concepts, smart technologies: five innovations were nominated for the coveted FRUIT LOGISTICA 2025 award and the FLIA Technology from almost 70 entries.
Trade visitors then voted for the most innovative products of the year.
Onix-Orange wins the Fruit Logistica 2025 Award
With an impressive share of the vote , the Onix orange won the top award. The fruit impresses with its extraordinary colouring – from bright flaming orange to deep burgundy red – as well as its juicy, naturally pigmented flesh with an intense flavour.
Its high antioxidant and vitamin content is particularly noteworthy. Grown in Spain, the Onix orange offers an impressive shelf life. The innovation comes from Germany, while AMFRESH Spain Citrus markets the fruit as a “sustainable citrus wonder” for premium consumers.
The other nominees
Sustainable: the organic rain-grown avocado
The Organic Raingrown Avocado comes from the rainforest of Eosta in Kenya and Nature & More, a company from the Netherlands. It is the first organic avocado that is available all year round – and the first to be grown without artificial irrigation, using rainwater only.
Against the backdrop of growing consumer demand and global water shortages, Eosta is a sustainable solution for growing avocados. Eosta/Nature & More supports smallholders by providing a secure living wage.
Reliable: strawberries from a sustainable supply chain
Under the brand name ALDINA, the discount supermarket chain ALDI SÜD is marketing a single strawberry variety in Germany – and guaranteeing producers purchases throughout the entire season.
The concept’s aim is to boost strawberry production in Germany. Thanks to transparent pricing and purchase guarantees for a highly delicate and perishable product, there are long-term economic benefits for all involved. For consumers, the focus on a single variety goes hand in hand with a promise of good flavour.
Enchanting: a mandarin for Halloween
Halloweena is a new mandarin variety in the shape of a pumpkin. It is easy to peel, practically seedless, sweet in flavour – and an ideal Halloween snack due to its shape and shiny skin. It represents an attractive and healthy alternative to the usual treats.
The fruit is cultivated sustainably to strict standards in Spain and ripens just before Halloween. According to Genesis Fresh in Spain (an innovation from the UK), farmers can look forward to record yields.
Compact: savoy cabbage as pointed cabbage
Samantha is the world’s first savoy cabbage with a pointed head (an innovation from Denmark). It weighs less than 500 grams per cabbage.
With its compact shape, firm leaf structure and distinct colour, it stands out on supermarket shelves and can be prepared in many ways.
It offers an entirely new cabbage experience, slightly sweet in taste, rich in fibre and vitamins, and is suitable for salads, wok and barbecue dishes. Sealing options extend the shelf life and ensure less waste.
Croptimus wins the Fruit Logistica Innovation Technology Award
More than half of the votes cast for FLIA technology went to Croptimus from Fermata Technology. This image analysis technology enables farmers to detect diseases or pest infestations on vegetables in the greenhouse at an early stage.
According to the manufacturer, the innovation from Israel promises up to 50% less scouting effort, 30% less crop loss and 25% less input consumption – a sustainable and efficient solution for agriculture.
The other nominees
Precise: LiDAR-based drones: The Hungarian manufacturer ABZ Innovation equips drones for use in orchards and vineyards with a LiDAR-based situational awareness system. With the help of real-time 3D mapping, the drones recognise even minor obstacles such as thin wires or hazards and maintain dynamic height control. The GPS-free system maintains its distance to uneven tree canopies and optimises the crop-spraying height. This results in less use of chemicals, which benefits farmers and the environment alike.
Economical: AI-based drip and runoff monitoring. The FarmRoad Irrigation Module from New Zealand helps farmers to optimise their water consumption. The dashboards are AI-driven and combine local climate data with sophisticated water demand models. Using automated drip and runoff calculations, farmers can adapt their irrigation planning to crop needs and local conditions on a daily basis. The system recognises early signs of crop stress, which enables timely intervention.
Durable: ethylene capture during fruit transport. The RYPEN Case Liner keeps fruit in transport crates fresh and crisp for longer. According to the British manufacturer, customers have observed an average of 85 per cent less defects on grape transports. RYPEN technology captures excess ethylene molecules inside the crates and binds their structure. It produces no chemical oxidation, emits no substances and does not affect the fruit. The technology employed is always adapted to the fruit in question and customer requirements, ensuring longer shelf life and less food waste. The company as a presence in SA, too.
Optimum dosage levels: analysing and adjusting fungicide content. The CATsystem from the Spanish manufacturer Citrosol is an intelligent consumption system for use in the post-harvest sector. The evaluation system measures concentrations of fungicides and other solution components in production facilities online and in real time and adjusts them immediately. The advantages are optimum dosage levels, less waste and chemical pollution, greater sustainability and detailed traceability.
Source: Fruit Logistica