As always, the Belgian food production industry was in high profile during the SIAL fair. The geographically small country packed a big punch at this year’s October 15-19 running of the trade show, ranking third in the number of exhibitors behind Italy and France, and ahead of Spain and Turkey out of 124 nations represented.
Among key processors and marketers from Belgium’s robust frozen vegetable and fruit sector showing their stuff at the bustling Parc des Espositions Paris Nord Villepinte venue were Ardo, Crop’s, Greenyard and HerbaFrost.
The busy booth of Ooigem-headquartered Crop’s showcased the family-owned and operated company’s extensive assortment of vegetables and ready meals, as well as whole fruit and portions including halves, quarters, slices, chunks and cubes.
Also in the spotlight were purees and smoothies including Strawberry Delight, Raspberry Heaven, Mango Dream, Pineapple Sunset and many other flavors that proved to be very popular among show-goers. Pieter Delbaere and Kirsten Nijsten, respectively general manager and marketing manager of Crop’s Fruits NV, saw to it that thirsty visitors from the FrozenFoodsBiz.com team were slaked to satisfaction.
Raw material inputs for Crop’s extensive range of value-added fruit products are sourced around the world – from fertile fields and orchards in Serbia, Poland, Morocco, Costa Rica, Chile and beyond. The company operates four fruit production and freezing facilities, all located within the immediate areas of harvest.
Apart from fruit, an abundance of frozen vegetable and ready meal products were available to see and sample at SIAL. Crop’s, which is a long-established brand name known to Belgian consumers since the late 1940s and early ’50s, today has five vegetable processing plants in as many countries – Belgium, France, Portugal, Spain and Poland. Its customer base includes buyers from retail, wholesale and foodservice sectors, as well as industrial further processors.
Ardo’s Nutritious, Delicious Plant-based Convenience
Team Ardo was in fine form at the Paris show, where its Beetroot Burger and Tricolore Lentis Mix were nominated for SIAL 2022 Innovation Awards. But much excitement at the Ardooie-headquartered frozen vegetable and fruit company’s stand stemmed from recently introduced Chunky Sautéed Carrots and Trio Crispy Vegetable Fingers, both colorful additions to its growing range of plant-based products.
Trio Crispy Vegetable Fingers are presented as a “must-have in your kitchen.” Golden Sweetcorn fingers, Orange Vegetable Fingers with carrot, butternut and sweet potato, and Broccoli Fingers in a surprising and attractive red crust may be served separately or together. The combination of yellow, orange and red hues immediately adds color to tapas plates, side dishes or main courses. Each can be served as alternatives to fries, as salad toppings or in a wrap.
Chunky Sautéed Carrots are a colorful mix of yellow, orange and purple carrots sautéed in vegetable oil. Sautéing gives them a distinctly full-bodied carrot flavor with a deliciously al dente texture. The unique hand-cut look also makes this mix a “must-have” in any kitchen, says Ardo.
The carrots have not been seasoned, so they may be combined with a whole range of other flavors such as onions and parsley and ginger as well as Ardo’s Provence herb mix and so much more. This just goes to show once again that convenience and great taste go hand in hand.
Pinguin Stands Tall in Greenyard Group
Nadja Meulemans, export sales manager in the Greenyard Group’s frozen division, updated FrozenFoodsBiz.com about the Westrozebeke-based unit’s chef-created plant-based food offerings and long-term plans for a plant-powered future.
In fact, plant-based food products are really nothing new at Greenyard as the company’s Pinguin brand of frozen vegetables and fruits has been an innovator in the field since the label debuted in West Flanders by the entrepreneurial Dejonghe brothers back in 1965. All of Pinguin products were then, and are now, plant-based in the purest form as in actuality all plants are vegetables.
Greenyard Frozen’s wide range of value-added convenience products run the gamut from traditional vegetable mixes and purees to soups, herbs, cauliflower rice and couscous, pastas, risottos smoothies and ready meals distributed to retail, foodservice and B2B channels worldwide.
The company, which ranks as the No. 2 producer of frozen vegetable and fruits in Europe and exports to more than 80 countries, operates a network of highly efficient production plants equipped with specialized coating lines in Belgium, France, the United Kingdom and Poland.
Dropping In on HerbaFrost
Those who stopped by Hulshout-based frozen herbs specialist HerbaFrost’s stand had to be impressed with the company’s fiber-free frozen puree Herb Drops. The 100% natural basil, dill, chervil, coriander, rocket, mint, garden cress and parsley curried assortment is available in 5- and 20-gram portions.
The convenient product is ready to use at any time, as there is no need for defrosting. Consumers at home can just add a quickly dissolving drop to main course meals and side dishes as well as soups, sauces, cocktails, sorbets and smoothies to create a “flavor explosion.”
In business for more than 20 years, HerbaFrost’s free-flowing, IQF frozen herbs, drops and pellets are offered in organic as well as conventional form to industrial further processors as well as foodservice operators and retail buyers.
In addition to Hulshout, Herbafrost also sources and processes Belgian-grown herbs from fields in the Diksmuide-Vladslo area. These two locations, with different soil characteristics, allow the company to spread risk and guarantee high quality at all times.
Countdown for 2024 SIAL Begins
According to the show organizer, more than 265,000 visitors from over 200 countries attended the 2022 event. Approximately 8,000 top buyers with upwards of €50 billion in purchasing power were on the scene, checking out in excess of 400,000 products on display across 250,000 square meters of floor space. The next edition of the biennial exhibition is set for October 19-23, 2024.
