International kiwifruit marketer Zespri has released details of how it plans to develop sales of the three new varieties released for commercial production this week.
Outlining plans for the new sweet green, early gold and long-storing gold cultivars to be marketed customers and consumers, Zespri CEO Lain Jager confirmed that the two new gold cultivars would be incorporated at first under the existing Zespri Gold brand.
'The new golds will really just be line extensions for Zespri Gold,' he revealed. 'We see continued growth in the current window for Gold, as well as an opportunity to extend those sales for more weeks in the market.'
As for how Green14 would dovetail with Hayward, Mr Jager said the company would make a distinction in its branding most probably by labelling the new variety as Sweet Green.
'We know that for a portion of consumers the taste of Hayward is too tart, so Sweet Green will offer an alternative to which we expect to see a good response especially in Asia and southern Europe,' he commented. 'We might cannibalise some Hayward sales, but overall we're confident we will extend the market for Zespri green kiwifruit to new consumers.'
Mr Jager said the new varieties would provide exciting new opportunities for growers interested in either Green, Gold or both.
'In Gold, Zespri has the world’s best-performing horticulture product,' he argued. 'Gold orchards are highly productive, yielding approximately 22 per cent more fruit per hectare than Green kiwifruit, and Gold product then achieves premiums of more than 100 per cent over other varieties – something which, to Zespri’s knowledge, no other horticulture marketer has ever managed to achieve.'
Zespri has therefore made the strategic decision to strongly grow the Gold product line in the next few years and take a major step towards year-round supply, primarily from New Zealand.
'We can do this highly efficiently, without the cost of launching an entirely new brand into the marketplace and it avoids the risk of confusing consumers with too many similar offerings, as other horticultural businesses have sometimes done,' said Mr Jager. 'Our taste tests indicate that the two new Gold varieties are seen as near-identical to the existing Zespri Gold kiwifruit so that they can be marketed within that brand portfolio.'
Mr Jager said that consumers in Europe, Japan and elsewhere in Asia wanted Zespri Gold all year round, driving Zespri’s 12-month supply strategy.
'Right now, New Zealand can meet demand for Zespri Gold kiwifruit for 20 weeks of the year, with the rest being met from offshore supply,' he said. 'Today's decisions are about taking that towards 30 weeks, delivering a potential 50 per cent efficiency gain in our marketing and distribution network from New Zealand, with the balance of demand to be met by Zespri Gold growers in the Northern Hemisphere as that business develops in the future.'
The early-season Gold is due to be exported in March, arriving in markets up to three weeks ahead of the existing variety Hort16A. It is hoped that the other new gold variety will deliver exports all the way through to the New Zealand spring.
Research indicates that both are likely to be as productive as the existing Zespri Gold variety, and cost no more to grow.
Marketing of Green14 is expected to provide growers with an attractive option for a new market segment, Mr Jager said.
'The sweet green will be exported into premium markets and decisions about how it will be branded will be made next year,' he said. 'Our market managers see strong potential for sales at the start of the season and – being a new sweet variety – it also has the potential to attract new consumers to kiwifruit.'
The speed of growth from an additional 200ha of Green14 will be determined by a wide range of factors, including yield per hectare, although current indications are that the new variety is comparable in terms of cost of production and yields as Zespri Green.
Click here to read our exclusive interview with Zespri chief executive Lain Jager
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