TAURANGA, NEW ZEALAND - In recognition of a growth plan that has the kiwifruit provider on track to more than double global sales to $4.5 billion by 2025, Zespri was honored with the 2degrees Best Growth Strategy award at this past week’s 2017 Deloitte Top 200 Awards. According to Chief Executive Dan Mathieson, the award comes as welcome recognition for the work done across the industry to grow a genuine global sales and marketing organization and drive demand for Zespri’s kiwifruit.

“This award is real testament to the great team we have at Zespri—passionate, dedicated people around the world who bring to life our global grower-to-consumer strategy day in and day out—and the long-term partnerships we have with our customers," Mathieson commented. “Kiwifruit is big business in New Zealand, but it only makes up 1.5 percent of the globally-traded fruitbowl, so we see huge potential to grow the overall category.”

So, how does Zespri plan to double its sales in just 7 year’s time?

“We’ll continue to grow market demand for our products by building our premium Zespri brand and kiwifruit products to best meet the needs of our growing consumer base with a relentless commitment to quality, taste, and safety,” said Mathieson, noting that innovation will also be key in driving the company’s growth. According to a press release, the kiwifruit industry invests around $35 million a year in innovation, with more than half of this invested in Zespri’s joint new varieties breeding program with Plant & Food Research, which allows the company to develop new products and attract new consumers.

“Ours is a collaborative industry and to hit this ambitious target, we’re working with growers, post-harvest and our other supply chain partners to invest and build capability and capacity to achieve the significant opportunity that lies ahead of us,” added Mathieson.

In its release, Zespri cites a recent report from the University of Waikato, showing the New Zealand kiwifruit industry in its entirety is on track to create another 29,000 jobs and triple GDP contribution to over $6 billion by 2030. This, the company says, is due largely to Zespri’s gold variety SunGold. 

“Doubling sales in the next seven years would mean over $3 billion returned to communities around New Zealand—our export returns were $1.6 billion to New Zealand last season and this will double by 2025. This is a vital contributor to communities in kiwifruit growing regions across New Zealand,” Mathieson continued.

As this strategy unfolds before this industry in the coming years, keep following along with AndNowUKnow.com.

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