ORANGE COUNTY, CA - How do you bring a fruit to life? Why, with Zespri’s consumer campaign of course. The campaign, titled “A Real Snack, for Real Life” was also a consumer sweepstake that brought the Zespri brand to life and drew consumers to retailers as they searched for SunGold Kiwifruit.

“Our consumer campaign and promotion were very successful,” said Sarah Deaton, Marketing Manager for North America. “We are beyond excited about the results with over 800,000 entries—including over 100,000 unique contest entries! The ‘A Real Snack, for Real Life’ Zespri SunGold campaign—targeting busy moms—generated significant media exposure reaching 164 million impressions.”

Zespri also noted in its press release that it is extending its season with production in new regions. This winter, Zespri North America will supply consumers from December through February with Italian-grown conventional and organic SunGold and green kiwifruit. The New Zealand Kiwifruit season will begin in May and run through November. The press release also stated that Zespri’s Italian growers grow for taste and give consumers the same consistent eating experience they experience with the New Zealand fruit. Zespri is expecting to import the largest volume of Zespri Italian SunGold and Organic SunGold Kiwifruit to date, up 70 percent over last year although the overall volume remains in short supply with the production base still developing.

Although SunGold leads the growth strategy, Zespri stated that its goal is to supply a full range of fresh kiwi products including SunGold, Green, Organic Green and Organic SunGold.

“It’s exciting to watch the growth of the brand,” Deaton said. “Zespri’s brand awareness has increased by 117 percent in our top markets, and over 41 percent nationwide compared to last year.”

To build on the media campaign, Zespri helped move over 87,000 units of SunGold for retailers using the Ibotta app, which gives consumers cashback rewards when they purchase Zespri Kiwifruit.

“This is just another way we support retailers by driving consumers to their stores and increasing sales,” stated Deaton. “We also support retailers by developing customized programs and promotions through our market development managers. We assist retailers with regional display contests, custom POSM, and digital programs to help promote and encourage the trial of SunGold and other Zespri Kiwifruit varieties. We continue to hear from consumers that they love Zespri SunGold but are still having trouble finding it. We see tremendous growth with our strategic retail partners when they are building large displays to help consumers find Zespri easily.”

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