Back in 2010, Zespri commercialised three kiwi varieties; Sweet Green, Charm and SunGold. Simon Limmer, Zespri COO, confirmed earlier this month at Asia Fruit Logistica, that one of the three varieties has been withdrawn from commercial production, while another is proving difficult to find its position of the shelf.
The kiwifruit not making the cut after this season is the Charm variety. Consumers really liked to product, but there were some flaws once it was taken out of the cold chain and put on retail shelves, the kiwi would wrinkle and shrink. Considered a fringe product, and only grown on a couple hundred acres, the company decided to de-commercialise this variety after not being able to fix the issues.
The Sweet Green, also considered a fringe variety, is proving difficult to market with consumers. Despite having superior and sweeter flavour, the higher price is difficult to market to consumers because Sweet Green looks almost exactly like the Zespri Green kiwi until you actually open it up and taste it. That, coupled with more production issues than usual, is causing some issues that Zespri continues to work on ironing out.
However, these small setbacks have been overshadowed by the aptly named SunGold variety.
SunGold sees unprecedented success
Simon Limmer confirmed that SunGold is going strong. The company had the largest ever production of gold this year, with 32 million trays, overtaking pre-PSA volumes.
Confirming that there has been full recovery in terms of both production and volume.
"It has been a watershed year for us, just knowing how consumers were going to react to that size volume and how the supply chain was going to manage it. We couldn't be more delighted with how it's gone, we see that SunGold has characteristics which are attracting a number of new consumers to the variety. We are seeing that we're potentially able to complete with other fruits that we hadn't in the past, such as consumers of tropical fruits."
Limmer said that there is even potential in the future for SunGold to grow its share of the market from around one quarter of Zespri’s production to closer to a 50/50 split with green, as the markets make it clear that the demand can still grow.
"There is going to be incremental growth over the next two years. We have had an excellent year which is adding confidence that we are hitting with this variety, but we need to have a little more water under the bridge to make sure that the supply chain configured and have the marketing aligned and then we will see where it takes us."
Zespri in Asia
When it comes to China, Zespri is still trying to understand what China means in terms of production. More work and research will need to be done in terms of growing the product there, and due to the improving quality of kiwis already grown domestically, the company is more focussed on establishing their premium position in the market.
Kiwis are currently being grown for Zespri in Japan and China to supply the Asian market. Production is currently the Zespri Gold (Hort16A) variety, which is very susceptible to PSA, so they are looking to transition into the Sungold variety there as well.
Success despite high prices in Europe
Opportunity for SunGold was centred around Asia in the past, but the company has seen that there are a lot of opportunities globally as well. The kiwifruit has been well received in Europe. "It has a taste complexity that seems to appeal to a lot of people, it is not just a sweet product, it has a sweet-sour balance that appeals to a lot of different pallets. We are learning more and more about that all the time. Certainly, the response around the world has been phenomenal and we are very excited."
Prices are currently on the high end in Europe, but Limmer stressed that the company is still in the redevelopment and re-establishment stage. As good volumes continue, there will be more stability in the market. Zespri has recovered in terms of volume this year compared to where they were with gold products post PSA, and there is more growth to come. There is a lot of demand out there which means more volatility in the market. They want to position themselves as a premium product, but still keep it affordable for consumers. That should settle down over the next few years.