Redwood City, CA (July 22, 2010) — This year marks the 100th anniversary of the first kiwifruit harvest in New Zealand. In celebration of the industry’s growth, and to connect both trade and consumers with ZESPRI’s sustainable, innovative growing practices, ZESPRI has launched a grower section on their North American website, www.zesprikiwi.com/growers. In-depth bios, photos and videos showcase ZESPRI conventional and organic growers of both GREEN and GOLD Kiwifruit.
Descended from a wild Chinese vine known as Yang Tao, kiwifruit arrived in New Zealand in 1904 with New Zealand schoolteacher Isabel Fraser, who’d been visiting her missionary sister Katie in China. The seeds made their way to brothers Thomas and Alexander Allison who produced the first New Zealand kiwifruit in 1910. During the 1920s, an Auckland horticulturalist named Hayward Wright developed the robust Hayward variety, which today dominates commercial kiwifruit cultivation and production.
New Zealand Kiwifruit reached U.S. shores in the late 1950s. It has since made culinary waves on restaurant menus and won over consumers with its unique tangysweet taste and brilliant emerald color. Over the decades, kiwifruit has grown in popularity with American consumers as a hand-held snack and fruit ingredient, particularly as research unveiled the fruit’s extraordinary health benefits. Now that trade and consumers know about the fruit, they’re looking to connect with the growers behind the fruit. According to North American Market Manager, Karen Brux, ZESPRI’s growers have a unique story to tell.
“With a century of experience, ZESPRI growers lead the kiwifruit category in the field and in the market. They are truly committed to producing the best quality GREEN and GOLD Kiwifruit in the world,” says Brux. “The profiles, photos and videos featured on the new grower section of our website showcase our growers’ dedication to leading the kiwifruit industry through innovation and dedication. They introduce our customers to the best practices every grower uses to responsibly balance the environmental, social and economic aspects of our business.”
For kiwifruit lovers, the New Zealand Kiwifruit centenary celebration has another bonus. To mark the anniversary, ZESPRI is giving away a vacation for four to the heart of kiwifruit country. The New Zealand package includes a week’s beach accommodation, a full complement of exciting cultural and sports activities, and the opportunity to meet a real kiwi-growing Kiwi.
Source: Zespri International North America