ORANGE COUNTY, CA – Zespri ended the 2023 season as the #1 selling kiwi brand for the fourth straight year. Consumers love the refreshingly sweet taste of Zespri’s SunGold,TM which has generated double-digit growth in both dollars and volume helping to solidify the top brand position. Zespri has helped propel the kiwi category, outpacing the total fruit department growth rate by +7 points.
“Ending the season with positive sales results is always rewarding,” explains Darren LaMothe, Zespri’s General Manager, North America. “Our success is attributed in part to our distributors and retail partners, and we would like to thank them for a successful season as we look forward to planning the new season
in May.”
The synergy between Zespri’s marketing efforts and in-store placement helped drive retail sales of Zespri’s SunGold Kiwi. Zespri’s “Taste the Obsession” consumer campaign generated over 1 billion impressions and distributed 2.5 million samples igniting trial for this sweet and refreshing piece of fruit. Additionally, retailers built large prominent merchandising displays with placement in the produce department. The eye-catching graphics on the displays matched with the consumer campaign communications helping shoppers easily find our favorite nutritious and delicious kiwi fruit. Retailers continued to see strong sales increases with the prominent positioning of in-store displays, which resulted in a +$6MM in sales compared to a
year ago.
The campaign highlighted the passion and care that goes into growing Zespri’s kiwifruit. It is this focus on quality that ensures a delicious bite with every Zespri kiwifruit. The Zespri System, the integrated production and distribution system used to deliver the world’s best kiwifruit to consumers, is one of the foundation blocks of the Zespri brand. It is the culmination of many years of scientific, technical and practical developments and uncompromised commitment from orchard to point of retail sale.
Zespri Growers, Jeff and Shirley Roderick state, “Our passion and care for the land produces the best tasting fruit that we’re proud to share. It’s been a positive growing season so far with great weather conditions and we’re expecting a good yield and a great tasting crop this year.”
Zespri is currently planning a new consumer marketing campaign and merchandising opportunities to start another new season off strong and fuel its purposeful growth. Zespri’s goal is to help drive global consumption of fruits and fresh produce by providing a delicious and nutritious fruit that aligns with consumers’ growing health and wellness needs. Moreover, these important healthy decisions start in the store. “We are eager to work with retailers to build customized programs introducing shoppers to the kiwi category and continually drive incremental sales for the department,” states LaMothe.
Zespri encourages retailers to reach out to their account managers now to start developing plans for the exciting season with fruit to arrive in May!
ABOUT ZESPRI GROUP, LTD.
Zespri is 100 percent owned by current and former kiwifruit growers and has a global team of 850 based in Mount Maunganui and throughout Asia, Europe and the Americas. Our purpose is to help people, communities and the environment thrive through the goodness of kiwifruit, and we work with 2,800 growers in New Zealand and 1,500 growers offshore to provide consumers with fresh, healthy and great-tasting Zespri Green SunGold Kiwifruit and Zespri Organic Kiwifruit. Zespri is committed to sustainability, with areas of improvement identified right through the supply chain including our pledge that by 2025 we will use 100 percent reusable, recyclable or compostable packaging, do more to help the environment, and work with our partners to be carbon positive by 2035. Please visit zespri.com/en-US.
