Having established production of RubyRed in Italy, New Zealand-based company seizes opportunity to test market in Europe
Kiwifruit company Zespri has started pre-commercial trials of Italian-grown red kiwifruit in a limited number of stores in Belgium.
The group’s newest kiwifruit variety, RubyRed, is now in its third year of commercial production.
According to Zespri, its New Zealand-grown RubyRed has created a lot of excitement during early trials in other markets, among consumers that are drawn to the sweet, berry-tinged taste.
The variety has a shorter shelf-life than Zespri SunGold and Zespri Green, however. So to date Zespri has prioritised its Asian markets, given the shorter marine transit times from New Zealand.
But the potential for RubyRed to make a splash in Europe is very real, it says.
“We know there’s strong demand in our other markets for red, including in Europe, and we’ve had growing trials underway here, with a limited red crop grown in Italy,” said Steven Martina, president of Zespri Europe.
“We’re now entering the second phase of our trial and this fall this we will carry out pre-commercial testing in Belgium of the red fruit produced in Italy to capture consumer insights to support the potential introduction of Zespri Red in Europe.”
He added: “Given the limited amount of fruit, we’ve opted for a small scale trial in a limited number of stores in Belgium, which also allows our teams to closely monitor the trial.”
The red fruit will only be available in pre-packs during October.
