Alexander Stein: FRUIT LOGISTICA is the leading trade show for the global fresh produce business and represents the entire value-added chain of the fruit and vegetable sector, from producer to the point of sale. Held annually in Berlin, FRUIT LOGISTICA brings together more than 2,600 exhibitors from over 90 countries to showcase their products, services and technical solutions. Some 67,000 buyers and trade visitors from more than 150 countries take part in the event. Our main objective is to foster innovation and cross-sector collaboration, while providing a platform for companies to grow their business internationally. We are proud to see an increasing number of exhibitors from the mushroom sector - including those specialising in exotic varieties - showcasing their products and learning how to navigate the complex logistics involved in scaling up production.

AS: Absolutely. The fresh produce industry is highly interconnected, and its success hinges on the seamless coordination of numerous stakeholders. FRUIT LOGISTICA acts as a central hub where these stakeholders can meet, share insights and establish partnerships. In times of global disruption, climate challenges and evolving consumer expectations, the need for collaboration, transparency and knowledge exchange is growing. Our event builds bridges between segments that don’t always have the chance to connect directly. For mushroom producers - especially those transitioning from smallscale to larger operations - there’s often intense focus on growing methods, but less attention paid to what happens post-harvest. This is where FRUIT LOGISTICA can play a key role. It brings together producers, logistics experts, packaging innovators and technology providers who can offer real-world solutions for transporting delicate products such as mushrooms across regions and borders without compromising quality. By facilitating these discussions, we enable growers to see the bigger picture and establish the right partnerships to ensure sustainable growth.

AS: FRUIT LOGISTICA 2025 was the first time the trade got together after the idea of Trump’s ‘America First’ tariff agenda was first floated. And so, although there was very little detail about what kind of import duties would be applied - even now, there is still great uncertainty _endash_ that was probably the newest item on a lengthening list of topics and concerns. On the event’s Logistics Hub stage, a lot of the talk was around strategies to overcome freight bottlenecks and congestion, as well as maritime and supply chain security in relation to problems in the Middle East, and continued efforts to mitigate climate risks. Those challenges can be quite disheartening, but there was a lot of positive chat too, especially about the opportunities created by digitalisation - and specifically AI, automation, and tracking technologies. Many operators in the business are keen to reduce labour costs and improve logistics performance by investing in advanced cold chain monitoring and other systems that enhance efficiency and reduce spoilage. But of course these often require serious investment. As for the interaction between producers and logistics companies, I think the primary demand from producers, for example in Latin America and Africa, if for greater logistical support and reliability, so they can diversify more into emerging markets - Asia mainly, but also parts of Europe and the Middle East. For many producers, their small scale prevents them from accessing and affording a lot of the bigger, more dominant logistics networks, and if you`re talking about expanding supply bases to serve new demand that`a a block on growth. So I think the message to the logistics sector was to find ways to make those markets more accessible.

Steve Alaerts: What I like about a show such as FRUIT LOGISTICA is that it is an event in the food industry where there`s a recognition by one half that it`s important to deal with the other half, because you can`t grow and sell produce without having the logistical stakeholders in there. At a lot of shows producers or logistics are represented, but there is no dialogue. For me, collaboration starts with relationships. Are we communicating effectively at FRUIT LOGISTICA? No, obviously not. We are not discussing more technical requirements, like standard operating procedures. What we are doing is laying the important foundation of relationships that allows people to understand and accept each other`s position so that they can get to work later. For me, FRUIT LOGISTICA, as well as the IFPA, is an immense opportunity for people to engage with all the others that have a crucial role in the value chain while not controlling that. It`s one of the reasons why I think a lot of companies have driven themselves into vertical integration because they assumed that the best way to control your market is to control all the elements within the supply chain, which is hard to do because a grower doesn`t know how to run a transportation company. It`s a different ballgame. So I`m more of a believer not of vertical integration but virtual integration. That means that you need to sit together, everyone is good in what it does in its own capacity, and then make sure you understand each other and you align.

It`s very well done at the IFPA what we do now with the Supply Chain Council about sharing information. The idea of the Supply Chain of the Future project is to help to offer a pre-competitive, so pre-commercial, framework to all participants in the value chain, how to more efficiently share data with each other in a harmonised way, in a safe way. You want to be able to share data with everyone, but not with anyone, it`s very different. There are lots of reasons you might not share data, because they don`t trust their data with others where it might be used against them. For that we are working on a smart data escrow system which is pre-competitive and everyone can use. We of course also need to make sure we understand each other`s language, and we are also working towards harmonised standards.

One of the most interesting initiatives is dynamic incentives. The better experience consumers have, the more sales you will have. Everybody knows in the fresh produce industry that quality perception is the key for increased demand. We want to incentivise stakeholders through this framework. For example, in your industry, if there is a logistical stakeholder who really takes the effort to understand that specialty mushrooms have these particular characteristics, they would benefit from that. For example, you cannot mix specialty mushrooms with other products that respire lots of ethylene. Many transport stakeholders may not know that, and a pallet of specialty mushrooms might end up in a container alongside other fruit and vegetables that are respiring ethylene and indirectly damaging the produce. So if we have a framework that allows us to incentivise people that actually contribute to quality, then that framework will be very successful.

I think we need a paradigm shift where there`s a lot more accountability because, as a logistics industry, we have a tremendous impact on the quality of the product. If I`m supposed to move a specialty mushroom at 1 degree Celsius at 95% relative humidity, and for some reason I accidentally move it at 2 or 3 degrees for a few days, that will impact the product by shortening the shelf life, perhaps losing a percentage of sales. It had to do with my role, but as there was no information sharing or no pre-agreement, I`m not accountable and I just get paid for my services and the product is out there. This is an extreme example, and there are lots of people in the transportation industry who take this very seriously _endash_ I`m very proud of our fresh produce logistics in Europe, it`s super advanced, a very dense transportation system, a lot of availability, a lot of investments within their silos whether storage or transportation. But there is room to get to the next level where we share better information and have a good understanding of what to do and what not to do.

SA: I think it`s important to understand that there is basically no such thing as specialty mushroom logistics, it is all just thrown in the general lot. As a result of that, specialty mushrooms are suffering simply because it is just too perishable, sensitive, and delicate. The only way to solve this, from my point of view, is to have a logistics with the logistics industry where there is a good understanding about what is so delicate about this product, how we need to handle this product within even the existing fleet of assets or transport network, just simply by having attention on it. That`s a way to start. I do think that if there is an opportunity, companies will jump on a specialised solution for these mushrooms. One of the difficult elements is about volume - everything that has a small volume just falls through the cracks, and is handled with other products. Because of course transportation requires volume unless you`re willing to pay a premium.

SA: I`m very much someone that speaks out loud about diversifying supply chains and flexibility simply because there`s a lot of things going on. Imagine you have a ton of specialty mushrooms that you`re supposed to deliver and that buyer just pulls the plug  it could literally mean that if you don`t have an immediate other sale, that you just lose all the produce you`ve grown, which is, specifically for specialty mushrooms, even worse. I think the solution here is to work with a specialised logistics service provider that has a network and that helps you to make sure that you focus on having sufficient channels to move the product to if necessary. That might be difficult, but I`m pretty sure that some of them will reach the point where they will be able to contribute and facilitate something like that.

I always speak about A, B, C channels - that is, having your distribution location very close to IQF capabilities, terminal market capabilities, in order to make sure the product moves instantly. At Foodcareplus we have such a facility which is a little bit weirdly located, but its on the crossroads where all these retailers move product through, which at least creates an opportunity for product to be sold and move instantly. You need your product close to what I call gateways - airport gateways or transportation networks that allow you to move the product instantly.

We also believe in making product available through some of these commerce platforms, making sure that people know the product is available. That is important. Imagine you have a ton of specialty mushrooms, but for some reason you cannot continue to deliver to a retailer. Whatever agreement you made, you want to make sure the world knows very quickly that this product is available at a certain price. When you start escalating down, you probably lose a little bit on what your original channels were, but at least you find a destination for your product.

SA: On the production side I think they need to invest in trying to prolong shelf life. That sounds strange but I think it`s worthwhile to make sure they invest sufficiently in understanding the optimal ways of packaging the product because every day counts. Secondly, for sure move into having other types of conversations with your service providers that help you to distribute the product and invest in it, because it often doesn`t happen. Very rarely do I have fresh produce companies come to me and say, let`s sit together and talk about how you can help me and I will help you - there`s simply a wall, and it needs to be torn down. For specialty mushrooms, I think they would need to focus on non-asset logistics service providers, because for what they require I don`t think there is a single company that will help them. It`s a lot more uncomfortable to move from an asset logistics service provider you have a relationship with and then try to find quick solutions for other problems for flexibility. Also, try to learn from other industries. Join an association like the IFPA and talk with, for example, people that deal with other perishable products. Within the fresh produce industry there`s lots of other segments that deal with the same problems, like papaya, like many other perishable products.

There is a balance to be found in growing a product that is amazing, and also prolonging its life and getting it to consumers. For mushroom specialty growers, they have to make investments to grow their business, but they can`t just purely do that on producing - you must also invest in all the other elements of the value chain. And transportation and logistics is one part of that. Does that mean they need to invest themselves in trucks and stuff like that? No, but at least spend and invest time in engaging much more with these transport and logistics service providers. And they might be surprised that there are companies like ourselves that say, OK, we`ll put our shoulders under this and we`ll work with you to come up with something. Then we can grow with them.