Kiwifruit brand also reveals pre-commercial trials of SunGold in Greece performed well despite hot summer conditions
Zespri has reported its “best ever” sales campaign in Portugal, and says pre-commercial trials of its SunGold kiwifruit variety in Greece continue to be “promising” despite above-average temperatures over the past few months.
“Even though it was one of the hottest summers in recent years, the [Greek] vines were resilient and maintained similar growth and yields to the previous year, with a significant reduction in fruit drop,” the group reported in its monthly Kiwiflier publication.
With the group’s Northern Hemisphere harvests – known internally as ‘offshore’ production or Zespri Global Supply – completed in recent weeks, it said it expected a “smooth transition” to that supply as New Zealand exports came to a close.
Harvesting of SunGold in France kicked off in mid-September with the opening of Kiwi du Sud, a new packhouse joint venture built in partnership with Blue Whale.
“Since then, the harvest has been progressing smoothly, with yields from the initial orchards surpassing expectations,” the group said. “We are anticipating the highest yield per hectare since the introduction of Gold3 in France, with excellent appearance and taste quality.”
Elsewhere, it reported minimal impact from variable weather on its harvest in Italy, and no major issues in Korea or Japan, despite some disruption due to rain in the latter.
Portuguese promise
In Portugal, Zespri said it had experiences its “best ever season” thanks in part to a brand launch on social media, which was backed by PR support from influencers and nutritionists, and additional training for its distributors’ commercial team.
“Our Perfect Store Project implemented in 212 stores across three different retailers has helped lift our in-store visibility, led by more than 700 days of in-store sampling, new programmes in some of our best traditional fruit stores, and increased store visits to maintain stock availability and staff training,” it reported.
Promotional activities in Italy, UK, China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and the US apparently helped to boost demand too.
