KIWIBERRY TAPS UP CONSUMERS
New Zealand-based fruit research organisation HortResearch is tapping into the consumer demand for healthy, convenient produce with the launch of a mini, fully-edible kiwifruit.
The Kiwiberry or baby kiwi, Actinidia arguta, is a small sweet kiwifruit with an edible skin.
“This allows the entire kiwi to be easily eaten whole resulting in less mess for consumers and increased sales opportunities for retailers,” according to HortResearch’s marketing manager Lynley Browne.
With its strong, sweet taste and many healthy properties, kiwifruit is one of the most nutrient-dense of all the major fruits. Offering more vitamin C than an orange and outranking bananas as the top low-sodium high-potassium fruit, the kiwi is often by-passed in favour of a more convenient and easy-to-eat fruit.
HortResearch says Kiwiberry offers all the nutritional benefits of the kiwi, in a convenient ‘bite size’ portion, making it ideal for today’s health conscious, time-poor consumers.
HortResearch’s new Kiwiberry selection is a result of the largest kiwifruit breeding programme undertaken worldwide. Similarly to other kiwifruit species it is grown on a vine trained on a pergola trellis structure. And one of the key considerations in growing the kiwiberry is good wind protection and the development of a strong canopy to avoid fruit damage and sunburn.
So far production of Kiwiberry has been limited by its relatively short storage life. But, HortResearch has started commercialising a mid-season maturing selection, which can be stored up to eight weeks at 0°C. Weighing just 10-12g, this apple-shaped fruit is entirely edible in bite-sized portions, and HortResearch is expecting this new edition to the kiwifruit family to make as strong an impact as the now renowned Gold type.
“The sweet, yellow-fleshed cultivar ‘Hort16A’, marketed as Zespri Gold Kiwifruit, was also developed under HortResearch’s breeding programme to provide excellent fruit quality and sensory appeal,” says Browne.
Zespri Gold is now recognised as the third most valuable horticultural export from New Zealand, with sales reaching £66 million during the 2003/04 season. The company spends $20m a year on marketing, out of a $70m budget for promotion.
According to chief executive Tim Goodacre, the Gold fruit has been well-received in Asia, especially in Japan and Korea. While it required unique marketing owing to its thin skin and poorer keeping qualities, this year’s crop has been excellent, he says.
Five years after the Gold variety entered the market, Zespri has developed two new prototypes, a red kiwifruit and a sweet green variety. According to The New Zealand Herald, Zespri produced 200 trays of the red fruit for research this year. With a red star centred in its yellow flesh, the fruit is attractive and sweet, making it ideal for Asian tastes, says Goodacre. At present its main drawback is a relatively short keeping quality. However the company says it will be a while before either variety is commercially available in Europe.
REDBRIDGE’S FRESH KIWI WORLD
Redbridge WorldFresh has experienced a change in its global sourcing strategy for kiwfruit. Having been removed from Zespri’s supply panel, the company has had to switch to Chile for its total summer supply, according to southern hemisphere procurement co-ordinator, Geoff Murdoch.
With Zespri acting as the sole exporting desk for New Zealand‘s kiwifruit, the only other route of access to its supply is via a collaborative marketing agreement with the organisation, to work with specific customers that it is not targeting. Murdoch says Redbridge applied for this opportunity but was disappointingly turned down. However, he believes it could become a possibility in the not so distant future. “When deregulation comes it probably could be managed because this will allow more opportunity for companies such as ours to assist growers, but that would be outside of the Zespri circle. I think this will happen in the next two years.”
While New Zealand product is consistent in terms of quality, Murdoch says Chile is fast catching up. Redbridge will be absorbing in the region of 800-1,000 tonnes from Chile between April and September or October, which customarily faces stiff competition from New Zealand during this time, Redbridge WorldFresh’s deciduous fruit manager, Chris Rowe explains. However, overall exports directly into the UK market from New Zealand are expected to fall this year owing to the competitive pricing presented by Chilean exporters, he says.
According to Murdoch, the New Zealand season has been around two weeks late in starting this year but overall volumes are set to top last years total. Growers have been suffering from the high value of the New Zealand dollar which will impact on orchard gains, he says. In addition, the rain experienced during harvesting may have led to some issues with the quality of the fruit.
While the volume of kiwifruit absorbed by the wholesale and foodservice sectors has not changed dramatically, Rowe says the general consumption of fruit has steadily risen. “In foodservice kiwifruit is still used for decoration and in fruit salads but consumption has gone up because of the recognition of the health benefits of the fruit and snacking, with people just cutting off the top and eating it with a spoon. It’s definitely not seen as an exotic anymore. It has become a 12-month business, with no gaps in availability.”
KIWIS HOST KIWI FOLK
New Zealand’s North Island city of Rotorua will play host to the sixth global kiwifruit symposium, Kiwi2006.
Researchers from around the world will be meeting in New Zealand from February 21-24 next year for what has become the world’s largest gathering of kiwi experts. And up to 150 delegates are expected to flock to the Bay of Plenty region for the event, held every four years by the International Society of Horticultural Science.
With a strong emphasis on innovative research, next year’s event promises to be the most forward thinking to date, according to HortResearch kiwi scientist and scientific committee convenor for the event, Ross Ferguson.
“Although the industry is 100-years-old, progress made in the past 20 years has been based on much earlier research,” he says. “Now researchers are talking about what we need to provide for the industry - 10, 20, or even 30 years from now.”
The 2006 event will mark the symposium’s second visit to New Zealand. Given the country’s strong position in kiwifruit cultivar development and commercialisation, the event will likely be heavily influenced by local experience, says Ferguson.
“I expect there will be quite a few comparisons between ‘Hayward’ and ‘Hort16A’, marketed as Zespri Gold Kiwifruit because both cultivars are now very important to the New Zealand kiwifruit industry.”
Overseas delegates will be given the opportunity to see some of New Zealand’s production areas in a pre-symposium tour beginning February 17, says organising committee convenor, Bob Martin.
“The tour will give visitors a glimpse of not only our industry, but also our landscape and culture. It will pass through Auckland’s wine, vegetable and dairying areas to the Bay of Plenty. We aim to highlight the very best of New Zealand’s kiwifruit industry, including high-tech ‘Hayward’ and ‘Hort16A’ orchards, an organic orchard, packhouses and some very old vines that date back nearly 80 years,” says Martin.
According to the organisers the symposium aims to outline issues and innovative ideas emerging from local industries.
The most recent edition held in Wuhan, China, in 2002, demonstrated a strong emphasis on germplasm diversity, reflecting the kiwifruit’s history as a Chinese native plant. By contrast, at the event in Padova, Italy, in 1987, kiwifruit was a relatively new crop to local orchardists and the event was dominated by a keen interest in how best to develop new plantings.
Next year’s symposium has already led to the submission of over 150 abstracts covering all aspects of kiwifruit science, from breeding and genetics to fruit physiology, processing and supply chain management.
Discounted early bird registration closes on July 31 2005. Registrations will be accepted up to the symposium’s start date, although a late fee will apply to those received after October 31. For further information visit www.kiwi2006.com
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