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New fruit mixes kiwis with berries

Sofruileg, a European company that specializes in bringing new fruit to market, has recently unveiled their latest addition. The fruit, which they're marketing as Nergi, is a portable snacking fruit like berries, but with a kiwi taste.

Jean Pierre Caruel, Project Manager at Sofruileg, says they chose the name to represent the the vitality of the kiwiberry.



“For most people, the name means energy and health, and this kiwiberry is rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants,” he says.

Along with the healthy aspect of the kiwiberry, he believes the convenience and flavor will also be big selling points with consumers.

“It's a plant with origins in Asia,” he explains, “very similar to the kiwi, but you don't have to peel it.”



The original plant lacked the firmness and shelf life to make it to market, but the Nergi variety has added firmness while retaining the sweet kiwi taste.

François Lafitte, chairman of the board of directors at Sofruileg, says that the variety they've licensed will allow them to make an impact in the market.



“For us, it's important to see what can be grown and what can succeed in the market,” he says, “to ensure there is an economic future.”

He also notes that the cost to produce the kiwiberry should come down as volumes pick up and the high costs of manual harvesting is replaced with more economical machinery. Average pricing has been around 2.50 euros per punnet for the wholesalers (for European kiwiberry origin) and 4.50 euro per punnet for the retail (for New Zealand kiwiberry origin).

But Lafitte believes the fruit has a big future in Europe.



“For the upcoming season in Europe, we hope to sell about 200,000 punnets,” he says. “In ten years, we're looking to increase that to 10,000 tons.”

He notes that although their ten-year goal may seem like a lot, in comparison to the berry market, it's not.

“The challenge for us is to promote the product to retailers, consumers and to farmers so they grow it,” he says. “And we're confident about the project.”

For more information, please visit: www.nergi.info