News

New fresh-produce projects and innovations at Alimentaria

Lettuces sold with the root intact, banana crisps, new packaging that boosts tuna and fresh mushroom consumption, innovative meat dishes…these are some of the new products that the 15 Mercabarna businesses which took part in Alimentaria promoted at the fair. Mercabarna also decided to take part in the fair again, this time presenting two initiatives aimed at boosting the Catalan food sector.

International Visits as Part of Alimentaria

Throughout March, numerous agrofood institutions and professionals from around the world made the most of being in Barcelona for the Alimentaria fair to visit Mercabarna and learn first-hand about its management model and the way it operates.

Mercabarna-flor Presents Sales Forecasts for St George's Day

Around 20 journalists attended the press conference organised by Mercabarna-flor on 19 April to present the forecast for rose sales on St George’s Day. Both the Mercabarna Markets and Promotions manager, Joaquim Rosa, and the head of Mercabarna-flor, Jaume Esteve, said they expected sales to be very positive: “We hope to return to the magic figure of over six million roses sold, around 20% more than last year,” Mr Ros said.

Conference on Exporting Fishery Products

Conxemar, the Spanish Association of Wholesalers, Importers, Processors and Exporters of Fishery and Aquaculture Products, organised a seminar on exporting fishery products, held at the Fish Wholesaler’s Business Association (GMP) central offices on 21 March.

New Chair of the Fruit and Vegetable Retail Business Association

Faustino Mora has been the new chair of the Barcelona Province Fruit and Vegetable Retail Business Association since 28 March. He takes over from Ángel Juny, who retired for health reasons. Àlex Torras has also stood down as the manager of the Association for the same reason.
Josep Fabregat has joined the Board as the new vice-chair and Constantino Mora will take over as treasurer. Jesús Puente remains as secretary.

Distinguished Authorities Visit Mercabarna Area at Alimentaria

The Mercabarna stand became one of the points of interest during the opening day of Alimentaria of the tour that a retinue of distinguished authorities took around the fair’s facilities.

Víctor Noguer: "The goal is to win the loyalty of strategic customers and grow with them"

With a degree in Business Administration, Mr Noguer is a professor in the Marketing Management Department at ESADE Business School and runs a company in the communications sector. On 13 March he gave a course in Mercabarna in which he explained a number of key points about how a company can manage its customer portfolio more effectively.

Barcelona Food Cluster Association: New website and logo

The Barcelona Food Cluster Association has had its own online calling card since March. The website www.clusteralimentari.cat is a portal for promoting the Association’s work and goals, as well as the businesses and institutions that belong to it.

New Mercasa Chair

Eduardo Ameijide y Montenegro has been the new chair of Mercasa since 30 January, after taking over from Ignacio Cruz Roche.

Strategic Customer Management Course

Around 30 company and marketing managers from firms inside and outside Mercabarna attended a course entitled “Strategic Customer Management” organised by the Barcelona Food Cluster Association and held on 13 March.

New Business Opportunities in the Foodservice Sector

The Barcelona Food Cluster Association and ACC1Ó (the Government of Catalonia’s Competitiveness for Catalonia agency) organised the first foodservice sector Strategic Immersion Congress, held in Món Sant Benet (Bages) on 21 and 22 February.

Josep Tejedo, new Mercabarna Managing Director

Josep Tejedo is set to take over from Montserrat Gil de Bernabé as Mercabarna Managing Director at the end of February. Ms Gil de Bernabé is stepping down after four years in the post.

Mercabarna to Take Part in Alimentaria 2012

A new Alimentaria trade fair, the international reference point for professionals in the food and beverage distribution industry, will be held at the Gran Via site of Fira de Barcelona from 26 to 29 March.

Mercabarna Replaces Analogue Landline with Digital Phones

1 March is the date chosen for disconnecting the analogue landline system at Mercabarna. This means that, from that date on, the 550 businesses which form part of the closed user group in the Mercabarna telecommunications network, operated by Orange, will no longer be able to use their analogue phones and will only be able to use the digital units that have been installed in business premises since May.

Mercachef: New e-Commerce Platform for the Wholesale Sector

The national wholesale market company Mercasa came to Mercabarna on 19 January to present a pioneering initiative to boost sector sales. The initiative is Mercachef, an e-commerce platform for the companies in the 23 wholesale markets in Spain. Wholesale companies that register for the platform can use it to sell their products to restaurant-sector professionals and retail traders.