“Power UP!” with ZESPRI Kiwifruit

Celebrating kiwifruit’s recent designation as a “superfood,” ZESPRI will drive sales this summer with a high-impact nutrition marketing campaign encouraging North Americans to “Power UP!” with GREEN and GOLD kiwifruit from New Zealand.

The season, which begins in early June, will be characterized by a greater quantity of large size fruit than the industry has seen in several years, according to Karen Brux, ZESPRI International’s manager for North America. Not only is the total New Zealand kiwifruit crop slightly larger than 2005, the fruit size itself has also ‘powered up’ with an estimated average size of 31.5, she said.

“Bigger size means an even mightier nutritional punch in each piece of fruit,” Brux remarked. “Consumers are looking for the excellent quality, great tasting kiwifruit promised by the ZESPRI brand. And the Power UP! campaign will create greater awareness of the superior nutrition delivered in every bite of GREEN and GOLD kiwifruit.”

Power UP! involves a series of exciting sampling experiences staged at stores and community events in 10 U.S. and Canadian cities from mid-July through late August. Driving eye-catching branded vehicles, local marketing experts, joined by New Zealand kiwifruit growers, will spread the word about ZESPRI™ Kiwifruit’s flavor, convenience, and remarkable nutrition muscle.

Kiwifruit was named a superfood in SuperFood HealthStyles, a widely publicized book by Dr. Steven Pratt which hit the shelves in January. Pratt touts kiwifruit’s high nutrient density, and stores of vitamin C, fiber, potassium and vitamin E among the reasons it is essential to a healthy diet.

“We wanted to translate the idea of kiwifruit as a superfood into something tangible and easy to understand,” said Brux. “Power UP! will reach thousands of people while top-quality kiwifruit from New Zealand is in season.” The Power UP! team will also provide retailers with proven merchandising tips to help strengthen their kiwifruit sales with ZESPRI, Brux said.

“We want to energize the kiwifruit category. By bringing events, promotional materials and display ideas to retailers, we believe the Power UP! campaign can help put more muscle into sales this summer,” she commented. “Retailers see surprisingly good results when they publicize kiwifruit’s unparalleled nutrition benefits. For example, by using ads, signage or unique packaging, they can draw consumer attention to the fact that a serving of kiwifruit contains as much potassium as a banana, the vitamin C of two oranges, and all the fiber found in a bowl of bran cereal. For busy people who want to take good care of themselves and their families, these are pretty compelling reasons to buy kiwifruit.”

Power UP! will roll into Atlanta, GA; Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Houston, TX; Portland, OR; San Francisco, CA; Seattle, WA; Toronto, ON; Washington, DC and Vancouver, BC as the ZESPRI™ Kiwifruit season hits its peak. The campaign will promote the benefits of both GREEN and GOLD kiwifruit.

Tropical-sweet GOLD kiwifruit will be more plentiful than ever this year, to meet rapidly increasing demand in North America. One in four U.S. consumers now either prefers it to GREEN or likes the two equally. In addition to numerous mainstream campaigns for GOLD, ZESPRI’s existing Chinese campaign will extend to Toronto, with a Korean program launching in Los Angeles.

Brux recently traveled to New Zealand where she witnessed the kiwifruit harvest in progress.

“One thing that truly differentiates ZESPRI is the flavor,” she said. “Our growers are committed to only harvesting when the fruit has reached the ideal brix level, ensuring that it will ripen to the perfect sweetness. I’m confident that North America will have another excellent season with ZESPRITM Kiwifruit this year.”

Photos are available upon request.
Related Web site: www.zesprikiwi.com
For more information please contact:

Karin Gardner, communications manager
Jill Dahlstrom, communications associate
karga@oppy.com | jilda@oppy.com
PH: (206) 284-1705 | FX: (206) 284-0203

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