Achievement reflects strength of New Zealand’s breeding capability and global demand for differentiated premium fruit, says company CEO
New Zealand apple and pear breeding and commercialisation company, Prevar, has announced the global plantings of Prevar-bred varieties have surpassed 10mn trees adding that recent commercial milestones across its portfolio demonstrate the strength of its genetics, brands and commercial partnerships.
Tony Martin, Prevar CEO, said the progress being achieved across established and emerging varieties reflects the strength of New Zealand’s breeding capability and the demand for differentiated premium fruit.
“For more than 60 years New Zealand has been at the forefront of apple breeding innovation,” Martin said. “The continued momentum across the Prevar portfolio demonstrates our ability to transform innovation into commercially successful brands that create value for growers, marketers and licensees, while delighting consumers with distinctive fruit experiences that build lasting demand.”
Dazzle and Rockit continue to demonstrate the long-term value that can be created through successful commercialisation. Dazzle continues to deliver strong commercial performance across multiple international markets and remains one of Prevar’s most successful brands. While Rockit continues to strengthen its position in China through a major consumer marketing programme featuring celebrity ambassador Wang Yibo. The campaign generated more than 1.34bn digital impressions and increased prompted brand awareness to 75 per cent (+20 percentage points), accelerating growth across retail and e-commerce channels.
Across the portfolio, Prevar varieties are being developed to deliver distinctive eating experiences that consumers actively seek out and return to, from exceptional flavour and texture through to unique visual appeal, creating value throughout the supply chain.
Several growth brands are also achieving important milestones, building momentum for future value creation.
Sassy continues its rapid international expansion, with the variety now commercially grown across four continents, stocked in more than ten markets, and turning heads well beyond the produce aisle.
Piqa continues to establish itself as a premium global pear brand, with recent consumer and trade programmes highlighting growing demand, export expansion and strong consumer response.
In Europe, GoodnessMe attracted mainstream media attention following the first Belgian harvest of the New Zealand-bred variety, highlighting its disease resistance, sustainability credentials and commercial potential.
And, Fizz, New Zealand’s first pink-fleshed apple, remains in the early stages of commercialisation and represents an exciting future opportunity within the Prevar portfolio, with its distinctive pink flesh offering strong potential to capture consumer attention as development progresses.
Several newer varieties also achieved notable commercial milestones during the period.
Lumi was formally introduced to the international fresh produce industry at Asia Fruit Logistica in early September, generating strong interest from customers and partners. As one of the most promising recent additions to the Prevar portfolio, Lumi is expected to play an important role in future growth.
Joli reached an important commercial milestone with its consumer debut in Vietnam, marking the variety’s first export programme. The launch represents a significant step in establishing the variety in international markets and building momentum for future commercial expansion.
Tony Martin said the diversity of success across the portfolio demonstrates that value creation is not dependent on a single variety.
“Reaching more than 10mn trees planted across the portfolio reflects the strength of our breeding pipeline and commercialisation model,” he said. “With strong growth expected over the next five years and exciting opportunities ahead through brands such as Lumi and Joli, we are well positioned to continue creating value for growers, licensees and industry stakeholders.”
Collectively, these developments highlight how Prevar’s integrated approach to breeding, intellectual property management, licensing and brand development is creating scalable international opportunities for New Zealand-bred varieties and supporting long-term returns for industry stakeholders.
