An online marketplace called Fruitsapp has been launched in a bid to take the hassle out of buying and selling produce by injecting some technology into the process.

A representative says the business-to-business (B2B) platform, which offers free and paid premium accounts, helps its users get more visibility and reach a more global market while saving time and money.

Fruitsapp chief marketing officer Elena Molinaro told Fresh Fruit Portal the idea for the app came about when one of the co-founders who worked as a trader realized there was a need to streamline the process of international trade.

"He realized that a revolution was needed in this sector, because the fruit and vegetable sector is still working with traditional methods of communication which are very time-consuming," she said.

"So he decided to make an app through which buyers and the sellers can find the right demand all around the world."

The team began developing the platform in December 2016 and launched officially the following September. It now has around 2,000 users around the world, including major supermarket chains like as Carrefour, Edeka and Spar.

"[The users] are well-balanced among buyers and sellers. It's a big marketplace, including retailers, wholesalers and major producers," she said, adding the minimum order amount was one pallet.

Molinaro explained that when publishing a product, sellers were required to upload their quality certifications along with a photo.

Logistics companies covering certain routes - mainly in Europe - are also integrated inside the platform, and Fruitsapp is working to cover intercontinental routes as well.

"We also provide the prices of the products in real-time so they cannot make mistakes in their operations, and we use algorithms to forecast demand, trends and prices over the coming week," she said.

"In addition, every company has their own interactive map and personal profile, which helps them make connections with other companies interested in the products they are buying or selling."

Once two parties connect they can then negotiate on the price, and the buyers are later asked to rate the sellers once they have received the product.

At present a large proportion of the producers are based in Spain, Italy, Egypt, India Mexico, Colombia and Chile, with many buyers based in Europe, the U.S., the UAE and China.

Going forward, Molinaro said the company wanted to further develop support for places like South America - a huge fruit and vegetable production region - by expanding the logistics operators that can cover long routes.

www.freshfruitportal.com