PIQA® BOO® brand wows attendees at Asia Fruit Logistica in Hong Kong
“This new fruit was enthusiastically received”, reports Dr Brett Ennis, Chief Executive of Prevar Ltd. “It is so rewarding to see that industry leaders recognized that these new fruits really bring something new and exciting to the category.”
Brett Ennis, Chief Executive of Prevar Ltd.
An overview of the PIQA® brand fruit range and the associated PFR breeding themes were provided in a presentation made by Brett to the Asia Fruit Congress event held immediately prior to the Asia Fruit Logistica exhibition held in early September.
PIQA® fruits generated a lot of commercial interest as they are a solution to the single biggest challenge consumers relate to pears. When are they best to eat? The answer is PIQA® fruit is ready to provide sensational consumer satisfaction right off the tree! They retain their flavour and crisp and juice texture for long storage periods with good ambient shelf life. They further address another “ pear issue “ in that they have attractive shapes and colours and are less susceptible to scuffing and bruising.
Prevar has recently signed an exclusive marketing license with the Freshmax Group for growing this new fruit in Australia. CEO Ross Kane, states, “We believe there are excellent commercial opportunities for these new fruits in Australia and in Asian export markets, and are excited for their future. The pear fruit category is in need of rejuvenation and these new PIQA® brand fruit selections will be a significant catalyst for this. The PIQA®BOO® brand cultivar is visually striking in both colour and shape and has a very appealing crisp texture and flavour, resulting in a very broad appeal to consumers.”
Prevar has an agreement in place with World Wide Fruit UK for the full PIQA® fruit range to be marketed and sold in the UK. Tony Harding, Technical Director of WorldWide Fruit, has confirmed that small quantities of fruit of the first UK cultivar with the brand name PIQA®REO® will be available in 2015 with more commercial selections available soon thereafter. Tony believes “that there are excellent commercial opportunities for these new exotic fruits”.
Prevar is also excited to be moving forward in North America. To that end Prevar has partnered with Dawn Gray (Dawn Gray Global Consulting) to identify grower / partners in the US and Canada.
Brett and Dawn Gray are looking forward to the upcoming PMA Fresh Summit in Anaheim, California (Oct 17 – 19, 2014).
“We know that PIQA® fruits are generating a lot of interest with North American fruit growers” commented Brett. “We are excited to be carrying the message to the PMA attendee’s this fall”.
For more information:
Dawn Gray
PIQA® Fruits
Email: dawnegray@mac.com
www.piqafruit.co.nz
or
Brett Ennis
PIQA® Fruits
Email: bme@prevar.co.nz