We recently held our Annual Conference and welcomed a host of excellent speakers who entertained all of our domestic and international growers, Buyers and other key stakeholders.
Our speakers were, Dr. Clive Black from Shore Capital, Chris Cowan from Kantar Worldpanel, Mila Den Engelsman the MD of Angus Soft Fruits Europe, Carlos Portoles from Felgar, Louise Sutherland from AHDB, Sandy Hay from Royal Bank of Scotland and James Withers from Scotland Food and Drink.
We discussed everything from Future Trends, new technologies, agronomy advancements and how produce sales are changing in retail. Interestingly and perhaps worryingly, Kantar Worldpanel amongst a variety of other statistics, informed us that a higher percentage of people buy fresh fruit and vegetables from shops than buy toilet roll! This and other interesting findings from the conference including pictures are available on twitter with the #TheBerrySpecialists.
After a delicious meal, we were entertained by Dougie Vipond from Deacon Blue and Landward fame, who recalled humorous experiences throughout his life. The conference delegates were then surprised by three traditional Maoris who performed the iconic Haka and then taught us all how to do it and what it meant – everyone took part and entered into the spirit wholeheartedly. All in all a very entertaining conference that left us all with lots of food for thought!
