What a treat: Hort Innovation at 2025 Hort Connections

Hort Innovation is the principal partner at this year’s Hort Connections, which runs from 4–6 June 2025 at the Brisbane Convention Centre.

Providing insight and intrigue, the Hort Innovation team will delve into some solutions designed to bolster productivity with machine learning and data collection, as well as tickle some attendees' taste buds with curious confections.

There will be a number of interactive elements at the Hort Connections booth designed to make conference goers rethink how they consume fruits, vegetables and nuts to benefit themselves and the horticulture industry.

Treats will be available at various times on the stand, which will include:

• curious confections to introduce new and exciting ways to consumer fruits, vegetables and nuts, including sweet corn ice cream, beetroot ice cream, carrot marshmallows and papaya marshmallows;
• treats that are working to put an end to food waste including:
  • Happles and Merries from Gina’s Table, freeze dried treats designed to support farmers to upcycle unmarketable fruits;
  • Wonki drinks, a company that takes misshapen produce saved from Australian farms, combines it with local vodka and soda water to save 2.5–3 kg of ‘imperfect’ surplus fruit per case from disposal.

To further expand industry development and share the results of research and development projects, Hort Innovation will also contribute to a number of panel and plenary discussions, including:

• Opening Hort Connections (Friday 6 June at 8.50am): Julie Bird will open the plenary with a welcome address that acknowledges the importance of horticulture, celebrates industry achievements, and sets the vision for future growth and collaboration.
• Vegetable mechanisation (Friday 6 June at 9.40am): Led by Tom McCue, R&D Manager at Hort Innovation, this session will outline the purpose and key results of project VG23003 and ag-tech adoption locally and globally.
• Latest consumer trends (Friday 6 June at 1.30pm): Using insights from the HortIQ portal, Nielsen’s purchasing data and Fiftyfive5’s consumer perceptions tracking, this session will reveal key trends shaping consumer demand, enabling businesses to enhance market strategies and category management for nuts, fruit and vegetables.
• Harnessing the power of AI in horticulture (Friday 6 June at 2pm): Explores how cutting-edge technologies — backed by Hort Innovation Frontiers — are driving real-world impact across the sector. Featuring a panel of delivery partners, this session highlights innovations that are solving key grower challenges and transforming productivity, decision-making and sustainability across horticulture.

Brett Fifield, CEO at Hort Innovation, said: “We are looking forward to returning to Hort Connections in 2025. From food combinations that challenge the way we think about produce, to robots on farms automating process for Australian growers, we will have lots to share with those in attendance this year.

“We encourage everyone attending the conference to make sure they come by the Hort Innovation trade floor stand, introduce themselves and meet the team.”

This year marks a decade of support and the eighth year that Hort Innovation has been a partner at Hort Connections, supporting the work of AUSVEG and the International Fresh Produce Association Australia-New Zealand to create a place for further development, collaboration and growth within the horticulture industry.

To find out more about Hort Connections, visit hortconnections.com.au.

Image credit: iStock.com/Davizro