Italian SunGolds extend Zespri’s kiwifruit season

As Zespri Kiwifruit celebrates a successful consumer campaign, the company is expanding availability of its SunGold variety.

“A Real Snack for Real Life” promoted SunGold kiwifruit, and the company has seen a growth in consumer interest of the gold variety. Zespri is extending the season with Italian SunGolds (conventional and organic) for the North American market, according to a news release, as well as green kiwifruit.

Zespri’s Italian kiwifruit season runs from December through February, and New Zealand’s season is from May through November.

“Our consumer campaign and promotion were very successful,” Sarah Deaton, Zespri’s marketing manager for North America, said in a news release.

Overall, Zespri received more than 800,000 entries, including more than 100,000 unique entries, according to the release. The campaign, which targeted busy mothers, generated 164 million impressions, Deaton said.

“It’s exciting to watch the growth of the brand,” she said in the release. According to consumer data from Kantar Retail, Zespri’s brand awareness has increased by 117% in top markets, and more than 40% nationwide compared to last year.

The company expects to import more than 70% more conventional and organic SunGolds from Italy this season, according to the release.