Southern Fruits International launches new Moment cherries brand ahead of bumper season
New Zealand cherry marketer and exporter Southern Fruits International expects to harvest a record crop of more than 500 tonnes of premium cherries from its Central Otago orchards this summer.
Southern Fruits International sales and marketing manager Sharon Kirk said there has been large pre-season demand with forward orders received for more than half the crop at last year’s Asia Fruit Logistica held in Hong Kong.
She said the level of demand typically happened when available volume was high. It also demonstrated confidence in the company’s premium brands Beyond and the newly launched Moment cherries.
“This will be our biggest season yet as the orchards at Lindis Peaks and Mt Pisa, which span 160ha, are coming into their main production periods,” Kirk said. “We’ve seen significant demand from premium retailers in the Middle East, Asia (particularly China and Taiwan), the US and Canada.”
Kirk added that new markets are also emerging in Saudi Arabia, India, Thailand and potentially Hong Kong.
This season’s bumper crop comes after reduced production last season following cold and windy weather.
“Strong winds blew down protective nets from 120ha out of 163ha just before the harvest which impacted volume,” Kirk said. “However, all nets were replaced ahead of the flowering and fruit set period in spring 2024 and a bumper crop is the outcome.”
Beyond cherries will again be offered in two distinct 1kg, 2kg and 5kg boxes for export and domestic consumption as well as online sales in New Zealand. This year, Southern Fruits Interntional will also offer Moment brand cherries in 1kg, 2kg and 5kg boxes for export exclusively.
“Both brands give customers the option to develop some creative programmes around the brand stories – for Beyond, it’s about how we go above and beyond to deliver exceptional cherries and for Moment, it’s about take time to savour the moment.”
Both Beyond and Moment brands will market eight varieties, Sonnet, Sandra Rose, Santina, Stardust, Lapins, Sweetheart, Kordia, and Staccato progressively between late December and February.
