Press releases - trade fair duo expoSE & expoDirekt

expoSE & expoDirekt | November 19–20, 2025 | Karlsruhe Trade Fair Center

Trade fair duo already records over 240 exhibitors from 14 countries

Bruchsal, May 19, 2025. In six months, the 29th expoSE – Europe's leading trade fair for asparagus and berry production – and the 14th expoDirekt – Germany's largest trade fair for direct agricultural marketing – will take place at the Karlsruhe Exhibition Center. From November 19 to 20, 2025, 440 exhibitors from 14 countries and over 5.000 trade visitors are expected. 244 companies from 14 countries have already registered. The trade fair duo is organized by the Association of Southern German Asparagus and Strawberry Growers (VSSE).

The asparagus and strawberry season in Germany has been going well so far

The first half of the asparagus season is already well underway, and the strawberry harvest is in full swing, with strong demand for the delicious regional fruits. "May brings ideal asparagus and strawberry weather, and we expect the season to continue its strong run. Exhibitor acquisition for our trade fair duo is also going as well as last year, so we're optimistic about this year," explains VSSE Board Spokesperson Simon Schumacher.

Investment needs in view of extreme weather and rising production costs
The industry continues to face numerous challenges. Extreme weather, rising production costs, staff shortages, excessive bureaucracy, and stringent regulations are driving further automation and demanding more innovative solutions that save personnel, time, and other resources.

Applications for the expoSE & expoDirekt Innovation Award are open until 30 September 2025

Exhibitors at expoSE and expoDirekt can submit their innovations for the Innovation Award until September 30, 2025. An independent jury of experts will review the submissions and award the prizes. The awards ceremony will take place on the first day of the trade fair.

Professional exchange within the framework of expoSE & expoDirekt

This year, specialist forums such as the 36th Asparagus Day (in German and English), the 3rd Berry Technology Forum (in German and English), the 2nd Stone Fruit Forum, and the Direct Marketers Forum will provide additional knowledge transfer, exchange, and networking opportunities.

The great response to the 1st Stone Fruit Forum in 2024 means that this sector will be represented even more strongly at the trade fair.

Following the great response last year, the Direct Marketing Forum will once again take place in Hall 1 at the stand of the direct marketing trade magazine HOF direkt.

The Association of South German Asparagus and Strawberry Growers. V. (VSSE)

The Association of South German Asparagus and Strawberry Growers. V. (VSSE) is Germany's largest association of asparagus and strawberry growers with around 620 members. Since 1996, the VSSE has been the organizer of expoSE - Europe's leading trade fair for asparagus and berry growing - and since 2011 it has also been the organizer of Germany's largest agricultural direct marketing trade fair, expoDirekt.

For more information, please visit www.vsse.de

Contacts:
Association of South German Asparagus and Strawberry Growers
Werner-von-Siemens-Str. 2-6 / Building 5161
76646 Bruchsal

Simon Schumacher, Managing Director / Board Spokesman
Tel .: + 49 (0) 7251 3032080
schumacher@vsse.de

Isabelle Bohnert, press and public relations officer
Tel .: + 49 (0) 7251 3032184
bohnert@vsse.de

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Final report 2024

Good response to the trade fair duo expoSE & expoDirekt with 440 exhibitors from 13 nations and over 5.200 trade visitors from 33 countries

Bruchsal, November 22, 2024. With a very well attended first day of the trade fair and a quieter following day, the trade fair duo expoSE & expoDirekt was a success. 440 exhibitors from 13 nations presented their innovations and proven products and services at the 28th expoSE - Europe's leading trade fair for asparagus and berry production - and at the 13th expoDirekt - Germany's largest trade fair for direct agricultural marketing. From November 20 to 21, 2024, over 5 trade visitors from 200 countries came to the Karlsruhe trade fair.

Almost 16 percent of the exhibitors were participating in the trade fair duo for the first time. 84 percent of the exhibitors are convinced by the trade fair duo and are participating again. Maintaining contacts with existing customers was the main focus for most exhibitors. New contacts were also made, especially when there were new products. Around 26 percent of the exhibitors and around 21 percent of the trade visitors registered online traveled from abroad.

The general mood at the trade fair duo was more optimistic than it had been a year ago, and the exhibitors surveyed at random stated that the number of investment projects would increase again. One or two exhibitors would have liked a better distribution of visitor frequency and a higher number of visitors on the second day. In terms of the level of advance information of the trade visitors, as well as their purchasing interest and orders, most exhibitors were satisfied to very satisfied.

"Our expectations were exceeded again this year on the exhibitor side. The stable but slightly declining number of visitors reflects on the one hand the shutdowns, i.e. the concentration of the industry, and on the other hand the continued great need for information on new and further developments and the interest in professional exchange. We were very pleased with the very well attended first day of the trade fair and the great response to the specialist forums. Our trade fair duo is still the annual meeting place for the asparagus and berry industry," summarizes Simon Schumacher, Managing Director of the Association of South German Asparagus and Strawberry Growers (VSSE) and organizer of the expoSE and expoDirekt trade fairs.

Innovation awards for optimization and simplification in cultivation as well as creative approaches and marketing channels for direct agricultural marketing

On the first day of the trade fair, Simon Schumacher (VSSE eV) awarded three innovation prizes each in the areas of expoSE and expoDirekt.
The expoSE innovation awards went to 4Disc from Dortmund for the InterCut for ultra-shallow soil cultivation between the asparagus rows, to Harlander Landtechnik for the asparagus bed cutter with hydraulic service flap and to hexafarms from Berlin for the intelligent yield forecast for strawberries and soft fruit in the tunnel.

The expoDirekt innovation awards were given to the two cooperating companies getpacked and Click & Collect Service for getpacked & collect – online shopping and picking up products from the vending machine, to the plant counter from Lorsch for its smart vertical farm system for direct marketing and to Schwab Automaten (Packmatisch) from Munich for the HofKiosk, the vending machine with product tray system.

Well-attended specialist lectures: 1st Stone Fruit Forum, 34th Asparagus Day, Direct Marketers Forum and 2nd Berry Technology Forum

With 119 participants, the 1st Stone Fruit Forum, organized by VSSE eV and co-organizer Herbert Knuppen, received a very positive response. In its first edition, the focus was on cherry and plum varieties.

The well-attended 35th Asparagus Day focused on cultivation topics such as reproduction, the increase in asparagus and bean flies, the profitability of asparagus cultivation and options for reducing the use of pesticides in asparagus cultivation. He also provided insights into the cultivation and marketing of green asparagus in southern Spain and provided current information from the world of asparagus in a short format.

The second edition of the Berry Technology Forum, organized by Marco Joseph and VSSE eV, also received a good response, with 2-70 participants per specialist presentation. On the second day of the fair, the Berry Technology Forum dealt with the topics of data-driven cultivation for better plant growth and energy savings, harvest forecasts for planning security, strawberry harvesting by robots, switching from soil cultivation to cultivation in gutters, and data-driven irrigation.

The new concept of the direct marketing forum, organized by the trade magazine HOFdirekt and the VSSE, was a complete success: the specialist lectures were very well attended. On the first day of the fair, specialist lectures were offered on the topic of "Smart shopping" and on the second day on the topic of "The farm shop as a brand". Some trade visitors were so convinced by the offer that they spontaneously decided to visit the fair again on the second day.

Outlook on expoSE & expoDirekt 2025

The next trade fair duo expoSE & expoDirekt will take place from November 19 to 20, 2025 at the Karlsruhe Trade Fair. The Association of South German Asparagus and Strawberry Growers (VSSE) will continue the technical supporting program with its cooperation partners: 2nd Stone Fruit Forum - Varieties | Trends | Technology with co-organizer Herbert Knuppen, the 3rd Berry Technology Forum with organizer Marco Joseph, the 36th Asparagus Day together with the Karlsruhe District Office and the Karlsruhe Regional Council, and the Direct Marketers Forum with the trade magazine HOFdirekt. In addition, the stone fruit section will be expanded in the exhibition area.

Image and video material on the innovation award ceremony as well as image material from the trade fair duo expoSE & expoDirekt 2024 can be accessed here: https://www.expo-se.de/presseimpressionen-videos-fotos-videos/

Information about the innovation award can be found here: https://download.vsse.de/expoSE_expoDirekt/2024/Pressemappe_2024.pdf

Contacts:

Association of South German Asparagus and Strawberry Growers
Werner-von-Siemens-Str. 2-6 / Building 5161
76646 Bruchsal