A sell-out crowd gathered in Mount Maunganui today (29 October) to learn about market-leading innovations and scientific research being undertaken across the kiwifruit industry, as part of Zespri’s inaugural Kiwifruit Innovation Symposium.
Zespri general manager for marketing and innovation, Carol Ward, said the event aimed to profile the work underway across the industry and get input into directions and priorities for future research.
“This is an innovation conference for the industry and with the industry,” Ward explained. “By bringing our Zespri innovation leaders together along with so many of our research partners – the Riddet Institute, Plant & Food Research, KVH, Massey University and many more – we can show the industry the great work that’s going on right across the industry.”
The programme included a presentation from Zespri innovation leader Juliet Ansell, who outlined how Zespri’s investment in health research supports its premium, healthy position in the market.
Meanwhile Bryan Parkes, operations manager for the Zespri-Plant & Food Research breeding programme updated the audience on progress being made in producing another revolutionary cultivar for the kiwifruit category. The breeding programme accounts for more than half of Zespri’s innovation funding – with over NZ$20m (US$13.35m) invested by Zespri, Plant & Food Research and the New Zealand Government each year.
Zespri chief executive Lain Jager said it was imperative the New Zealand industry continued to stay ahead of the curve when it came to varietal development and all other components of the kiwifruit business. “We need to innovate faster than the competition to stay relevant to our consumers and drive value back to our industry,” Jager explained.
The symposium programme also included a series of interactive workshops exploring a diverse range of topics, such as how a new green cultivar would be integrated into Zespri’s portfolio, ways to transfer innovations quickly throughout the industry and how the industry can apply lessons learnt from Psa to other biosecurity threats.
