Lorraine Kirby, Retail Account Executive for Zespri in the UK said that they were at the show as Zespri is keen to promote the SunGold kiwifruit to the UK market. "The Zespri SunGold is relatively new to the UK market and we think it is a really interesting fruit for the food service industry and for the trade as a whole. Whereas the green kiwifruit is very well established, SunGold is relatively new and it has a lot of great attributes."
Attending the London show is part of a bigger campaign by Zespri to increase consumer and trade awareness of the SunGold brand by attending trade events, including the UK TV show This Morning Live and The Good Food Show.
"We are confident the SunGold kiwifruit will appeal to the UK consumer, it has a much sweeter taste profile than the green varieties and is very juicy and refreshing. People are looking for something new and this ticks all the boxes. Its nutritional properties are great, its high in vitamin C - in fact, at the same weight SunGold has three times the vitamin C of an orange," explains Ms Kirby.
At the end of April the first new season fruit arrived from New Zealand and it usually runs into September. The Italian fruit is typically available from October through to January. Kirby explains that they are still trying to increase the volumes to meet demand.
The SunGold variety usually retails for £1.50 - £2 for a pack of four, which is around the same as the ripe and ready green kiwis, so it is comparable but there is a bit of a price premium compared with other fruit and bigger packs of green.
"Our marketing campaign is focused on building awareness, value and demand for Zespri SunGold. We have a taxi going around London 'dressed' as a Zespri kiwifruit as well as consumer events and an ongoing PR campaign. We have a hashtag #snacksquad to try to encourage people to give up unhealthy snacks and have a SunGold kiwifruit instead.
For more information:
Lorraine Kirby
Zespri
Tel: +44 7885 765 462
Email: lorrainekirby@zespri-europe.com