Zespri to launch new campaign, merchandising displays at SEPC

Zespri invites attendees of the upcoming Southeast Produce Council's Southern Exposure trade show to “Taste the Obsession.”

Zespri’s account managers will be at booth No. 621 to meet with retailers during the SEPC event in Orlando, Fla., March 2-4. The booth will showcase Zespri’s new merchandising displays with updated graphics highlighting this year’s Taste the Obsession marketing campaign.

Taste the Obsession showcases the brand’s passionate commitment to sharing high quality, refreshingly sweet kiwifruit to ignite the good in consumers’ days, according to a news release.

“Our campaign tells our bold, brand story of the passion and care that goes into growing our kiwifruit in an unexpected, playful way,” Jeanne Wilson, Zespri head of marketing for North America, said in the release. “We’re excited to build upon our growing category success as we collaborate with retailers nationwide to develop customized programs and build impactful displays for our Zespri SunGold and Green Kiwifruit.”

Kiwi is on trend and is driving category growth, says Zespri. Kiwifruit ranks as the No. 1 fastest-growing segment in the fruit bowl, outpacing total fruit by 11 points, says the company pointing to IRI data for the 52 weeks ending Oct. 30, 2022. The same IRI data shows category sales have reached $265 million over the past year, a growth of more than 14% over a year ago.

Zespri remains the No. 1 kiwi brand over the past year with 52% share of the category, says the company citing IRI data for the New Zealand kiwi selling season of May 2022 to December 2022. Its proprietary SunGold Kiwifruit is driving the category growth, says Zespri, accounting for more than 48% of total kiwifruit category with total sales growing over $90 million over the past year, according to IRI data for the 52 weeks ending Jan. 1, 2023.

Zespri says its marketing efforts have driven awareness and sales for Zespri Kiwifruit. “Due to its digital media spend, strong influencer partnerships and robust event sampling programs, Zespri has gained new households at a steady rate across the U.S. and accelerated in areas where it has strong synergy between marketing support and sales partnerships,” the release said.

To continue the momentum, Zespri is running digital programs again this year including social, email, online video and display advertising in addition to driving trial for SunGold Kiwifruit with Ibotta, digital coupons and event activations.

“The SEPC trade show is an ideal opportunity for retailers to meet with Zespri’s team to start planning for the season before our fruit ships in May,” Wilson said. “Shoppers are unique so one program doesn’t work across all regions. We are available to customize programs designed for each retailer’s specific shopper needs. We are excited to help retailers grow their sales by using our marketing resources, displays and knowledge of merchandising and promoting kiwifruit that is the most profitable for them.”

Zespri says the synergy between its marketing efforts and in-store placement will help drive retail sales.

“The bold, attention-grabbing graphics on the display tie into the consumer campaign, which will be cohesive across all marketing channels,” Wilson said. “Zespri Kiwifruit is a high growth, everyday item now, and it sells best when it is prominently displayed because it adds incremental sales to the produce department. It is no longer viewed as an exotic fruit. Shoppers can’t get enough of this nutritious and deliciously sweet fruit.”

Zespri encourages retailers to move Zespri SunGold Kiwifruit adjacent to berries to drive total department sales. This could result in a more than 64% total fresh fruit sales uplift driven by higher basket spend, says Zespri, based on a 2020 third-party merchandising study by Kantar.