Over 1,000 consumers packed into Shanghai’s Central Park last weekend to celebrate the Chinese season launch of Zespri's SunGold kiwifruit variety.
Dubbed Zespri's Juicy Water Fight, the launchincluded live music and, as the name suggested, a large-scale water balloon fight. Lewis Pan, manager of Zespri China, said the event was aimed at promoting the benefits of a healthy lifestyle.
“Zespri consumers registered their groups online to take part in the first-ever Zespri Juicy Water Fight to have fun with their family and friends at this summer outdoor event,” Pan explained. “It was a chance for Zespri’s consumers to get away from their computer screens and mobile phones, have fun with friends and do something a bit different.”
The event was designed to strengthen Zespri’s engagement with Chinese consumers, while building on the company’s reputation as a healthy and fun New Zealand brand, according to Carol Ward, Zespri’s general manger of marketing.
The single-desk marketer expects to sell around 13m trays of kiwifruit into China this year, making it the company’s third largest market behind Japan and Spain.The People’s Republic is tipped to become Zespri’s largest market by volume within the next five years, as consumer confidence and awareness of New Zealand-grown kiwifruit continues to rise.“Our consumers in China are reassured by Zespri’s premium brand and reputation for food safety and high quality,” Ward said.
The Juicy Water Fight was part of a nation-wide launch campaign for SunGold, which covered 11 cities, including Beijing, Shenzhen and Guangzhou.Launch events have been supported by a host of other promotional activity in China so far this season, which has seen entire metro stations painted green with Zespri advertising. Chinese consumers can also buy Zespri kiwifruit through their television remotes via a new advertising and sales programme.
