Juice Summit 2025
Since the first edition in 2013, the Juice Summit provides a global forum for knowledge sharing and a unique networking opportunity for all fruit juice industry players to shape the future of the sector. With record participation year after year, the conference guarantees the presence of renowned industry experts who are active on both the European and the international juice scene. We hope to see you there! If you have any questions about the event, do not hesitate to reach out to the organisers at [email protected].
Elwin de Groot is heading the macro strategy team of RaboResearch – Global Economics and Markets (GEM) in the Netherlands. The team covers the main areas of G7 economics, key emerging markets, central bank policy and money markets. The European economy and financial markets, including ECB monetary policy are his key areas of attention. He joined Rabobank in 2006.
Being a seasoned speaker, Elwin gives many presentations and lectures for various client groups of Rabobank, including institutional investors and large corporates. He also regularly appears in the national and international press.
Between 1998 and 2006, Elwin worked for Fortis Bank as a European economist. He started his career at the Dutch Institute for Applied Scientific Research, where he worked as a researcher and project manager in the area of contract research for various clients in the public and private sector.
Elwin holds a Masters Degree in Economics at the Erasmus University of Rotterdam.
Thomas Körmendi is the CEO and President of the Elopak Group. He joined Elopak in 2018. Körmendi has more than 30 years of extensive management and business development experience from several international companies.
Prior to joining Elopak, Körmendi held the position as the CEO of Kezzler AS. Körmendi has also served as a member of the board of directors of One Nordic AB. He is currently member of the board of directors at Nordic Paper and Norican.
In addition, he has held the position as CEO of the Relacom Group, Interim CEO of Cardo Flow Solutions, Managing Director of Tetra Pak Bulgaria, Turkey, Caucasus, and Hungary, and as the Vice President of Tetra Pak with responsibility for the North Europe region.
Körmendi holds a Master of Science in Economics from Copenhagen Business School. Previous directorships and senior management positions last five years: One Nordic (board member), Kezzler A/S (CEO), and Körmendi & Co (Senior Business Advisor).
As Global Vice President of Marketing, Julia leads a multicultural and multidisciplinary team that works in close collaboration with some of the biggest food and beverage brands in the world to identify market growth opportunities, develop unique food and beverage product and formulation concepts, and bring new products to the market.
Part of the company since 2000, Julia has held a variety of leadership roles in disciplines ranging from human resources and operations to sales and marketing.
Currently based in Modena (Italy), she holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and management from Michigan State University.
After finishing law school and practicing in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Carlos moved to France where he became a trader in food raw materials. Gradually specializing in citrus products and seafood, he founded two companies in France (Eurotrade Juice and Fish) and later a third one in Uruguay (Newbell Trade), employing a total of 25 people as of today.
Since 2019 the Eurotrade companies belong to his sons and they are managed by them. Expanding into production, Carlos also co-founded Trebol Pampa with two partners, which is a leading grower and exporter of fresh fruit in Argentina.
Finally, in addition to his career(s) as a lawyer and entrepreneur, Carlos was a long-standing member of the Executive Committee and Vice President of the SGF until 2022, and has been President of the Quality Juice Foundation since 2013.
Director Fundecitrus – Citrus Defense Fund. Former general-manager (2014-2024) and scientific manager from the Research and Development Department (1997-2024). He has B.S. and M.Sc. degrees in Agronomy from the University of São Paulo, FCAV-UNESP/Jaboticabal, and M.S. and M.B.A. degrees in Citriculture from the University Politecnica of Valencia, Spain.
Fundecitrus is a non-for-profit association kept by citrus growers and industry to cope with citrus disease, pest and has assumed a central role in the execution of projects for the Brazilian citrus chain.
Guilherme is the Senior Manager of International Organizations and Partnerships at CropLife International, where he leads advocacy efforts related to trade negotiations, regulatory policies, and agricultural sustainability.
Prior to joining CropLife International in 2023, Guilherme served as Director of International Economics for the State Government of Santa Catarina in Brazil and later worked in Global Corporate Affairs at BRF. He holds a Double Degree in International Relations and Law.
Tatiana Campos is an international and governmental relations professional with nearly 20 years of experience in bridging the gap between companies, governments, institutions, and sectors. Throughout her career, she has successfully guided over 200 companies in their market access projects, collaborating with entities and governments from Brazil, Germany, Belgium and Switzerland. Currently serving as the Executive Director of the International Fruit and Vegetable Juice Association (IFU), Tatiana leads IFU’s global mission to advocate for the production and consumption of fruit and vegetable juices worldwide. Before joining IFU, Tatiana held the position of Institutional Relations Director of CitrusBR, the Brazilian orange juice industry association.
Tatiana’s international dedication has led to notable achievements, including being an invited participant in the United States Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) and mentoring for the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) Women SMEs Accelerator Program in Africa. In addition, Tatiana is an active member of Women Inside Trade (WIT) and has previously served as a member of the BRICS AgriBusiness Working Group, further contributing to her commitment to advancing global trade, gender equality and agriculture.
Tatiana holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from the University of São Paulo (USP), an MBA in Foreign Trade and International Business from Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV-SP), and has completed a 6-month internship at FREIE Universität Berlin’s Political Science Department. She is fluent in English, German, and Portuguese, and possesses advanced Spanish skills along with basic French proficiency.
Kees Cools has been a member of IFU`s executive committee since 1998. Currently, he is IFU`s President and allows the members to take advantage of his long expertise in the food and beverage market where he started to work after studying business administration.
Today as a senior advisor to the board of the Döhler Group, Kees is continuing to support the company`s business unit Fruits & Vegetables for which he was previously responsible. In the past and still today, his position and activities put him in close and frequent contact with key people in the global ‘’Juice‘’ world, involving raw material producers, Juice beverage bottlers and consumer & retail marketing specialists and many more international stakeholders.
Senior research and technical specialist in the Laboratory of Physicochemical and Sensory Quality Testing in the Department of Fruit and Vegetable Product Technology, with which she has been associated since 2016. Since 2022, as part of preparations for her doctoral dissertation, she has been developing a technology to reduce the sugar concentration naturally present in fruit juices using enzymatic reactions, which coincides with her scientific interests. Moreover, she is focused on fruit and vegetable technology, food chemistry, and the determination of bioactive components. She has extensive experience in fruit juice quality evaluation according to AIJN Standards. In 2013, she received a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry, and in 2015, she received a Master’s Degree in Chemical Analytics. Since 2023, she has been a PhD student at the AgroBioTech Doctoral School in Warsaw, Poland. Discipline: Nutrition and food technology.
Elwin de Groot is heading the macro strategy team of RaboResearch – Global Economics and Markets (GEM) in the Netherlands. The team covers the main areas of G7 economics, key emerging markets, central bank policy and money markets. The European economy and financial markets, including ECB monetary policy are his key areas of attention. He joined Rabobank in 2006.
Being a seasoned speaker, Elwin gives many presentations and lectures for various client groups of Rabobank, including institutional investors and large corporates. He also regularly appears in the national and international press.
Between 1998 and 2006, Elwin worked for Fortis Bank as a European economist. He started his career at the Dutch Institute for Applied Scientific Research, where he worked as a researcher and project manager in the area of contract research for various clients in the public and private sector.
Elwin holds a Masters Degree in Economics at the Erasmus University of Rotterdam.
Thomas Ebenfeld is a psychologist and expert in depth psychological marketing research.
He is co-founder of the global research boutique concept m Institute.
His work focuses on studies in cultural psychology, research into social transformations and the study of brands, media and communication in a global context.
He is an author and speaker at industry conferences as well as a guest lecturer at universities.
Marcos Fava Neves is an international expert in global food, agribusiness, and bioenergy, and a professor at the University of São Paulo (USP) and Harven Agribusiness School in Brazil. He holds degrees in agronomy and management, with postdoctoral studies in France and the Netherlands, and has held academic roles in Argentina, South Africa, and the U.S., including Purdue University.
Fava Neves co-founded the Markestrat think-tank in 2004, and founded the DoutorAgro knowledge platform in 2014. Is specialized in strategic planning for agribusiness, and serves on several international boards. He has published over 250 articles and 80 books, making him one of Brazil’s most-cited food and agribusiness scholars. An active speaker, Fava Neves has delivered over 1,800 presentations in 25 countries and received 150 recognitions. Within the juice chain, was the idealizer of the PES Orange Crop Estimate of Fundecitrus in Brazil, strategic plans for the chain, programs for juice consumption increase and contributions to its communication, governance and coordination.
David has worked in the fruit juice industry now for 25 years, spending part of that time with both Cargill and Citrosuco in a number of global commercial management functions. During this period he has been based out of the UK, the Netherlands, Germany and Austria.
In 2017 David founded the company, Juicehedge, which has developed a number of commercial risk management tools and solutions for fruit juice industry companies situated at different points, all across the supply chain.
David also chairs the BFJA – the UK fruit juice association and has done so since 2007.
In his spare time David is a keen cyclist and triathlete participating regularly in a number of both long and short distance race events.
General Manager of the French Subsidiary of Eckes family-owned Group since 2019, with 35 years of experiences in FMCG, in beverages, chilled, ambient, and frozen food leading companies.
Monica Harting studied process engineering in Hamburg, Germany and later added an MBA.
She worked in the automotive industry and in the renewable energy sector before developing and shaping the plastics recycling industry with projects across Europe.
At REMONDIS she supports the goal of achieving more circular economy for plastics throughout the entire value chain and different industry sectors. She works with industry associations and represents plastic recyclers in forums, such as PRE, PETCORE, BDE/FEAD or DIN/ISO.
As REMONDIS has a vast portfolio of plastic recycling capacities including PET, PP, HDPE, LDPE and technical plastics and covers all services in the waste value chain such as collection, sorting, DRS and R&D, she is able to have a multilateral view on current (legislative) developments.
Thomas Körmendi is the CEO and President of the Elopak Group. He joined Elopak in 2018. Körmendi has more than 30 years of extensive management and business development experience from several international companies.
Prior to joining Elopak, Körmendi held the position as the CEO of Kezzler AS. Körmendi has also served as a member of the board of directors of One Nordic AB. He is currently member of the board of directors at Nordic Paper and Norican.
In addition, he has held the position as CEO of the Relacom Group, Interim CEO of Cardo Flow Solutions, Managing Director of Tetra Pak Bulgaria, Turkey, Caucasus, and Hungary, and as the Vice President of Tetra Pak with responsibility for the North Europe region.
Körmendi holds a Master of Science in Economics from Copenhagen Business School. Previous directorships and senior management positions last five years: One Nordic (board member), Kezzler A/S (CEO), and Körmendi & Co (Senior Business Advisor).
Luis Lazaro Valles has been Citrofrut’s CEO since early 2022. He joined Citrofrut in 2016 as Citrus Operations Coordinator, where he expanded the processing volume and value-added products in all plants and promoted the growth of organic orange production in Mexico. In August 2018, Luis was appointed to Juices SBU Coordinator where he focused the company’s effort in building differentiated processing and supply chain capabilities to capture market opportunities and better serve its customers in value added products such as Organic, NFC and special citrus products.
Luis has more than 26 years of experience in operations, supply chain, business development and general management, where he has added value in a range of companies from start-ups to multinationals and family businesses, in the building materials, renewable energy, food & beverage and agribusiness industries.
Luis holds a Chemical Engineering degree from the Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores of Monterrey. Additionally, he has an MBA from the IMD International, Switzerland, and the Stanford Executive Program in Palo Alto, CA. Luis lives in Monterrey, MX, where Citrofrut’s headquarters are located and is originally from Spain. He is happily married and has 3 beautiful daughters.
Linda is a Consultant at Euromonitor International with a focus on the beverage industry. Based in Düsseldorf, Linda has worked for Euromonitor since 2019, specialising in food and drinks.
Linda is the project lead for Euromonitor’s global soft drinks research. She is particularly interested in how sustainability is changing the industry, impacting consumer behaviour and innovation.
Linda has presented at various events such as the ISM Cologne 2021 and the German Coffee Association. Linda has presented at various events such as FI Europe Frankfurt and the German Coffee Association. She has been quoted in the Handelsblatt and by the BBC.
Javier Lorenzo Benavides, CEO of Eckes-Granini Ibérica, representative of the Spanish Fruit Juice Federation, member of the AIJN Board of Directors since April 2016, took over the Presidency on 1 January 2024 for a two-year term. Javier was born in Madrid in 1962. He has a degree in Psychology and a Postgraduate Degree in Psychology for Industrial and Business Organizations. He has been working in the consumer goods industry for more than 30 years. He worked throughout his professional career in companies such as P&G, Gillette and Reckitt Benckiser before joining Eckes-Granini in 2011.
As Global Vice President of Marketing, Julia leads a multicultural and multidisciplinary team that works in close collaboration with some of the biggest food and beverage brands in the world to identify market growth opportunities, develop unique food and beverage product and formulation concepts, and bring new products to the market.
Part of the company since 2000, Julia has held a variety of leadership roles in disciplines ranging from human resources and operations to sales and marketing.
Currently based in Modena (Italy), she holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and management from Michigan State University.
Coert Michielsen is Refresco’s Chief Procurement & Manufacturing Officer and member of the Executive Committee.
He joined Refresco as Group Director Procurement in 2008.
Prior to this, Coert held positions as Director Procurement at DSM Food Specialties, and Director Procurement at General Nutrition Companies and Numico S.A.
Coert is a graduate in Business Economics of Tilburg University, the Netherlands.
Research Professor from the Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas (IBMCP), from Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) allocated at Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) since 2018.
Previously, worked as researcher at IVIA (Spain) and at Fundecitrus (Brazil). He has B.S. (Valencia University) an PhD (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid) in Biology.
Coordinated research projects at national and international level, such as the Pre-HLB (Preventing HLB epidemics for ensuring citrus survival in Europe) funded by EU under H2020 call.
Recently his group achieved a groundbreaking publication on how to edit citrus genomes using CRISPR/cas.
Georg Pescher is the current Managing Director of Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands for Alpla, a role he has held since 2022. Before this time Georg held responsibility for the business in Germany.
With a strong background in engineering, Georg earned his degree in New Zealand and has accumulated extensive professional experience in various countries, including Germany, France, and the USA.
Georg’s career began at Procter & Gamble (P&G) in 1994, where he worked until 2002. He then joined CCL in 2003, contributing to the company’s growth until 2009, when he commenced his journey with Alpla.
In addition to his corporate responsibilities, Georg is an active member of the board of the Industrievereinigung Kunststoff (IK) in Germany, showcasing his commitment to the industry. His professional expertise spans manufacturing, R&D, and general management.
Justine Pradels, AIJN’s Sustainability & Technical Affairs Manager is a Franco-American graduate in European Affairs who is passionate about European environmental politics. After obtaining her master’s degree from Sciences Po Lille (France), Justine moved to Brussels to work for the European Parliament. She became an expert in interinstitutional relations, she gained deep understanding of the European Parliament’s functioning and she developed robust knowledge of the European legislative cycle.
Justine’s AIJN journey began in 2021. She built the foundations for AIJN’s Sustainability Roadmap project by compiling, analysing, and assessing the impact of every single existing and upcoming EU-level sustainability legislation that has an influence on the fruit juice industry. Her pioneering work on sustainability in the juice sector, her coordinating role in the AIJN Sustainability Expert Group and her expertise on European legislation resulted in Justine becoming one of the fruit juice industry’s most knowledgable and trusted sustainability professionals. As the representative of a truly global value chain, Justine believes that the juice sector is in a unique position to address sustainability on a wider scale and make an impact. For this reason, she is committed to fostering multi-stakeholder collaboration within the industry and beyond.
On top of her sustainability work, Justine is also responsible technical affairs at AIJN. Focusing on the composition, quality and authenticity of fruit juices, it is Justine’s duty to maintain the 27 Reference Guidelines under the AIJN Code of Practice and to coordinate the AIJN Technical Committee’s scientific experts from among the AIJN membership.
Daniel Schneider is CEO of the entire Bucher Unipektin Group, a Swiss company that, together with its subsidiaries around the world, is an international supplier of individual machines and complete systems for the food and beverage industry.
Previously, as Head of Customer Center, he was responsible for the entire Marketing, Sales and Service division for almost ten years and was always a member of the Management Board.
He started his career with a well-known Swiss fruit juice company. From 2002 until the merger with Bucher Unipektin AG in 2010, he held various positions at Unipektin Engineering AG and worked all over the world.
Daniel Schneider holds an MBA for Managing Director with Advanced Federal Diploma and started his professional career from the practical side as a certified Beverage Technologist and completed further training as a Food Technologist with Advanced Federal Diploma.
Chemist, Research and Development at Döhler GmbH since 1990.
Born 12th, September 1951. Married, two children.
Studies of chemistry and medicine at University of Würzburg.
1980 – 1990 Manager in the F+E-Management, Technical Marketing and Production for AKZO Fibers & POLYMERS in Germany and the Netherlands, as well as General Management of the Enzyme Division of RÖHM, Darmstadt.
Bruno has a deep, end-to-end understanding of what it takes to develop, produce and distribute consumer products. He combines this with a passion for sustainability and circularity. He holds a Master of Science in Chemistry and Food Industry and started his professional career as production manager at BP Chemicals, Union Carbide and Dow Chemicals.
In 1993 he joined Coca-Cola, where, over more than 27 years, he acquired practical and strategic knowledge about product development, scientific and regulatory affairs, operations, supply chain and marketing. He worked across multiple geographies in Europe, Middle East and Africa.
Until recently he was VP Technical, Innovation and Supply Chain for Western Europe and responsible for the Sustainable Packaging Office for the Coca-Cola in Western Europe. His experience in packaging and supply chain combined with his ability to develop and implement an effective, integrate sustainability strategy resulted in defining, meeting and even exceeding many bold, external commitments. Bruno has many years of experience as board member of several European Associations including PETCORE (PET value chain), EPBP (Plastic Bottle Platform) and AIJN (Fruit Juices).
Currently Bruno is Managing Director of VGV Management Services assisting companies and industry associations to establish and reach their sustainability and innovation goals.
Hassan graduated with high honors from the Bachelor’s program in Food Engineering from Middle East Technical University, Turkey. He then pursued a Master’s in Food Quality and Safety from the prestigious ETH Zurich. Hassan gained experience as a junior researcher at Nestlé Product Technology Centre Dairy in Switzerland, where he worked on enhancing the flavor profile of Nestlé’s dairy alternatives. In April 2021, he was awarded the Marie-Curie Ph.D. fellowship and joined the EU-funded HiStabJuice project. His research works involve new method development and validation for various food components, i.e., vitamins, using LC-MS and studying the influence of different processing interventions on fruit juice and nectar quality. In August 2023, Hassan received the SCIEX Rising Star Award from AOAC International (Association of Official Agricultural Chemists) in recognition of his potential as a future thought leader and scientific influencer in the field of analytical science.
The Juice Summit organized by and for the juice industry offers a maximum of networking opportunities. Hereunder the list of key industry players that attended the Summit last years and the highlighted companies have confirmed their participation to the Juice Summit 2024. Click on the letters to make the list appear. If you would like to have more information on the companies who have registered thus far, please click on the highlighted area, which will take you directly to their website.
Bruges, often called the “Venice of the North,” is a fairy-tale city in Belgium that enchants visitors with its medieval charm and romantic canals. Its cobblestone streets and picturesque squares are lined with centuries-old buildings, creating an ambiance straight out of a storybook. The iconic Belfry of Bruges offers panoramic views of the city, while a boat ride along the serene canals reveals its hidden gems. Bruges is a paradise for chocolate lovers, boasting artisan chocolatiers and delightful waffle shops at every turn.
History comes alive in the Groeningemuseum, showcasing Flemish masterpieces, and in the serene Beguinage, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Markt square buzzes with life, offering cozy cafes and horse-drawn carriages. Nightfall brings a magical glow to the illuminated bridges and waterways.
Easily walkable and rich in history, Bruges promises an unforgettable escape into Europe’s past. It’s a city that captivates your heart and lingers in your memories.
Located at Beursplein 1, 8000 Bruges (Belgium), the Bruges Meeting & Convention Centre (BMCC) is a cutting-edge venue that blends modern functionality with Bruges’ historic charm.
Chosen to host this year the prestigious Juice Summit 2025, BMCC is renowned for its versatile spaces, advanced technology, and sustainable design. With 4,500 square meters of event space and a panoramic terrace offering stunning city views, it’s the ideal setting for the Juice Summit.
Just steps from Bruges’ enchanting city center, BMCC ensures a seamless and inspiring event experience.
Please note that you need to book your own hotel room. Accommodation is not included in the conference package.