The supply of SunGold Kiwis in the U.S. at the moment looks good with an incremental increase year over year. "We've put in a huge amount of planning to deliver the season well, including getting fruit to our market a week earlier to get to our customers as quickly as possible to meet the early season demand," says Jeanne Wilson, Zespri's Head of Marketing for North America.
Zespri SunGold Kiwi is the company's proprietary non-GMO variety and the fruit is coming from New Zealand. "We've experienced good weather leading to a great growing season," says Wilson. "From a quality perspective, early reports have been really strong which meets our high taste standards with minimal defects."
This comes at a time when consumers are happily settled into spring and in the mood to switch up their produce routines for new fruit on the shelf, including new varieties of fruit. "Once consumers try Zespri SunGold Kiwifruit, they're hooked," says Wilson. "A recent third-party study showed 97 percent of consumers who tried a sample indicated intent to purchase. Our marketing team continues to focus on driving awareness of Zespri Kiwifruit and getting fruit into the hands of our consumers."
Further growth
That said, there's still significant room to grow the category and brand in the U.S. "While we focus on reaching new households, we see our existing consumers excited for us to be back in the market so they can re-purchase," adds Wilson.
However, there are larger economic factors at play impacting consumers today with inflation still a concern. "As consumers watch their spend, they are willing to spend on their wellbeing and self-care," she says. "Zespri's delicious and nutritious kiwi delivers on the value consumers seek to support their healthy lifestyle. Our top goals remain driving awareness about our brand with exciting promotional programs and making sure shoppers can find us in-store through bold, prominent merchandising displays."
Other Zespri marketing initiatives have also been launched to help drive demand including introducing the Zespri KiwiBrothers™, the brand's mascots. "It's the second year of our 'Taste The Obsession' campaign and the KiwiBrothers are taking the mic," says Wilson, adding that the mascots will sing, to the tune of the 80s pop hit song Kids in America, their brand story of the passion and care that goes into delivering their high-quality kiwifruit. "We know our KiwiBrothers resonate with consumers so it's a big moment to launch them in the U.S. to help drive sales this summer."
For more information:
Zespri
https://www.zespri.com