Around 450 industry leaders discussed innovation, sustainability, and collaboration in the global juice sector.

The Juice Summit 2024, held in Antwerp on 16-17 October, concluded with great success, bringing together around 450 participants from around the world. Jointly organised by AIJN (European Fruit Juice Association), IFU (International Fruit and Vegetable Juice Association), and SGF International (SAFE- GLOBAL-FAIR), this year’s summit once again reinforced its reputation as the premier global platform for the fruit juice and nectar industry. With dynamic discussions, insightful keynotes, and forward-looking sessions, the summit explored the critical challenges and opportunities shaping the future of the juice industry.

Key themes addressed during Juice Summit 2024

At the Juice Summit 2024, keynote speakers offered valuable insights into the industry’s future. Elwin De Groot from RaboResearch addressed global economic challenges, emphasising the need for innovation and adaptability. Following him, Elopak CEO Thomas Körmendi focused on the growing importance of sustainable packaging, urging the industry to make strategic, eco-friendly choices for long-term success. Following the keynotes, four panel discussions tackled key issues. The first a session focused on consumer behaviour, including an analysis of psychological drivers, particularly during times of crisis such as inflation and health concerns. Leaders shared actionable insights on how businesses can adapt to emerging consumer trends, providing fresh opportunities to revitalise product offerings and better meet evolving consumer needs.

Another key issue addressed was the citrus greening disease affecting the orange industry in South America with consequences on availability and price. The session stressed the importance of collaborative efforts between growers, researchers, and industry stakeholders to safeguard the future of orange juice production.

Sustainability was another key theme at the summit, particularly during the session on the evolving Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, exploring how the juice sector can thrive in a circular economy, and analysing both the challenges and opportunities presented by this regulation.

The final session took a broad view of emerging markets of apple juice production and global citrus industry trends. The summit ended with a presentation on building resilient food systems, outlining adaptive strategies for handling climate change, economic volatility, and global disruptions in agriculture.

Looking ahead: a united industry for a sustainable future

The Juice Summit 2024 concluded with a strong emphasis on adaptability, innovation, and sustainability as critical drivers for the future of the juice industry. Kees Cools, President of IFU, remarked, “The Juice Summit offers a great information and dialogue platform to all segments of the global juice supply chain in support of solutions for the many challenges the industry faces today.” Joachim Tretzel, President of SGF, added, “The unique blend of commercial and technical subjects during the Juice Summit offers many opportunities to jointly exploit new routes to future success.” Javier Lorenzo, President of AIJN, echoed these sentiments, stating, “The future of the juice industry lies in our ability to work together, share knowledge, and drive innovation”.

The next edition of the Juice Summit is scheduled for early October 2025, before Anuga 2025, with further details to be announced in the coming months.

For more information and to stay updated on future events, please visit The Juice Summit Website.

The IFU (International Fruit and Vegetable Juice Association) has, once again, awarded one company from the juice industry and one person for his long standing active support of the juice industry: Tetra Pak received the “IFU Award for Innovation” for their production concept solution combining UV and filtration technology, Mr. Hans Jürgen Hofsommer received the “IFU Award for Significant Contribution”. Both awards were presented during this years` Juice Summit Gala Dinner in Antwerp, Belgium.

Mr. Hans Jürgen Hofsommer is the founder of GfL laboratory in Berlin, dedicated to serving the juice industry with expert analysis. He has been a long standing member and supporter of IFU being the Methods of Analysis (MAC) chair in the 1980’s and 1990’s developing the extensive catalogue of IFU methods of analysis. He truly is a dedicated contributor to the juice industry.

Maria Norlin accepted the award on behalf of Tetra Pak and gave the worlds` first presentation on this technology combining UV and filtration at the IFU Technical Workshop in Athens earlier this year.

Maria Norlin has worked at Tetra Pak Processing Systems since 2008 across different areas of expertise, such as technical product management within Mixing, Blending, Dosing, as well as product management within Heating.

Maria is currently leading a team of food technologists and product managers responsible for developing and managing the Tetra Pak JNSD Processing Portfolio and technology expertise. She has a Master of Science in Chemical Biology, with a focus on Bioprocess Engineering from Linköpings University, Institute of Technology in Sweden.

Tetra Pak`s technology utilises sterile filtration in conjunction with heat processing for juice, nectar and still drinks which reduces energy consumption by 2/3rds.

The conference provides a genuine and dynamic forum for all industry players and their suppliers

Antwerp, Belgium – 1&2 October 2019 – Hilton Antwerp 4

Organised by AIJN, IFU and SGF, the Juice Summit is now a global, annual conference which guarantees the presence of renowned industry leaders and experts of the European and international juice industries. Over the years it has become a key conference delivering exceptional insights in important topical dossiers as well as providing a unique networking opportunity.

The Summit is a two-day conference with presentations and panel discussions covering a wide variety of topical issues which determine the business environment of today, as well as challenges for tomorrow. The speakers and panelists will also share their understanding and vision of the future for the fruit juice industry with participants. Key policy fields like CSR, health and nutrition as well as insights on global market developments will be on the programme. This year the organiser have the honor of having 3 prominent keynote speakers :

• James Quincey, CEO & President of Coca Cola
• Prof Jan Rotmans from Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam
• And Marius Robles, Co-Founder of FOOD BY ROBOTS

With over 550 participants from over 40 countries, the conference takes place in the most exclusive venues in Antwerp. All practical information and registration process can be found via the following link : www.juicesummit.org