A non-traditional market warming up to New Zealand’s Zespri-branded kiwifruit is the United States. Zespri’s chief executive Dan Mathieson predicts volumes heading there this season will jump by at least two million trays. He claims Zespri’s SunGold variety has attracted more and more US consumers to quality kiwifruit “so on the back of that we’ve seen very strong demand. But also US retailers are starting to take Zespri-quality green as well, whereas before they’d probably taken more of other origin green at a cheaper price and lower quality.”
Meanwhile, the British market is still proving harder for Zespri to crack. “It’s a bit like the USA a few years ago,” says Dan. “The retail structures there are really strong and they have their own way of doing things. And because we’re such an under-developed category, our business is successful when we can come in and create impact with the consumer at the point of purchase.”
Source: newsie.co.nz
