After a number of challenging seasons impacted by COVID, Cyclone Gabrielle, and other weather events, Rockit™ apple volumes bounced back strongly in 2024 with a crop size more than double that of 2023.
"While 2024 started positively with a successful harvest, like many New Zealand businesses we had some challenging headwinds to navigate that combined to prevent us from successfully executing the season," explains Grant McBeath, Rockit Global CEO.
"Having a huge increase in volume was always going to be a challenge, then 2024 delivered smaller fruit due to Cyclone Gabrielle which also drove high rates of pest and disease limiting market access. These constraints combined to deliver a slow start in a category where the first half of the year is the peak selling season for New Zealand apples. Missing this peak meant we had to try and sell our largest ever harvest in a smaller window. It is clear however that customers and consumers absolutely love the Rockit™ product and brand, reflected in the growth we have seen across key markets last year - with sales growth exceeding 45% in core markets. While it was a challenging year, the combination of Rockit's rapid growth and its great, highly differentiated product, gives us huge optimism for 2025 and the future."
2025 season
The harvest of the Rockit apple started on the 11th of February with around 230 million apples forecast to be exported this year.
"We are excited to see that the crop is looking strong and consistent, with great colour and a delightfully sweet and crisp taste! The hot, dry spring has returned average fruit size to normal and helped growers get on top of the pest and disease issues of the last few years. We have an amazing piece of fruit and a great harvest coming, and along with our awesome brand, we are looking forward to a great 2025. The East Coast recently experienced a cold snap, however, this has helped the fruit colour-up, delivering the deep red Rockit™ apples that consumers love."
Hawke's Bay and Gisborne are the main growing regions on the East Coast of the North Island for Rockit. The company is also focused on building a fruit supply base that can endure changing climates and increased frequency of extreme weather events. This includes the recent expansion into the South Island which has seen Rockit™ apple trees planted in Canterbury.
Main export markets
"We're in a fortunate position where our unique proposition and consumer brand places us where a commodity apple can't go – e.g. as an unprocessed, healthy snack alternative in the snack category and convenience channels. China remains our number one market opportunity, and we are continuing to develop other markets to provide resilience and diversification. We also see strong growth in
Greater China, Southeast Asia, MENA, and the US. Our second priority in our global development model is the further development of opportunities in North America, Saudi Arabia, and India. Developing the right relationships and business models can take time, but we see massive potential.
"We are really excited about bringing 2025 fruit to shelves and our planning involves carefully managing a smooth transition to the new season where we will empty the channels, and bring down stock at the shelf before what is looking to be another record-selling season globally. We are also launching some exciting initiatives this season that we believe consumers will thoroughly enjoy."
For more information:
Anna Murray
Rockit
Tel: +64 6 974 2802
[email protected]