Zespri facts for kids
 |
|
| Industry | Horticulture |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Mount Maunganui, New Zealand |
|
Key people
|
Jason Te Brake, CEO |
Zespri International Limited is the biggest company that sells kiwifruit around the world. They sell their fruit in more than 50 countries! Their main office is in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand.
Zespri also works with farmers in other countries. These include Australia, France, Greece, Italy, Japan, and South Korea. This helps them offer kiwifruit all year long. For example, New Zealand kiwifruit is ready from May to October. Then, Zespri sells kiwifruit from Italy from November to January.
Zespri offers different types of kiwifruit. These include Green, Organic, and the popular SunGold varieties.
Zespri's Story
Zespri started a long time ago in 1988. It was first called the "New Zealand Marketing Board." Later, in 2000, it became a group owned by kiwifruit farmers in New Zealand. That's when it changed its name to "Zespri International Ltd."
Some Zespri SunGold Kiwifruit plants have been grown in China without permission. This means they were grown using plants that were not supposed to be shared. These fruits are now sold in China, competing with Zespri's own kiwifruit.
Zespri has become more popular in Australia recently. This is partly thanks to a fun advertising campaign. It featured two dancing and singing kiwifruit characters!
In 2023, Zespri joined the NZX, which is New Zealand's stock market. This allowed the company to be listed there. However, only kiwifruit growers can own shares in Zespri.
Meet the Kiwi Brothers
The Kiwi Brothers are super fun mascot characters! They represent Zespri International Japan Co., Ltd. This is Zespri's company in Japan. These characters are based on Zespri's main kiwifruit types.
When they first appeared, there were two brothers. Green was the Green Kiwi, and Gold was the SunGold Kiwi. Later, a third character named Red joined them. Red represents the Ruby Red kiwifruit. Even though they are called "Brothers," they are not actually related!
Before the Kiwi Brothers, Zespri used a character called "Zespri-kun." But in 2016, the Kiwi Brothers were introduced. For the first two years, you could only see these characters in Japan. They became very popular there. Because of their success, Zespri decided to use them in other countries too. In 2018, they started appearing in the Netherlands. Then in 2019, they were used in South Korea and other places.
In April 2022, the Kiwi Brothers mascots did a special dance. It was at a company event to celebrate the start of the kiwifruit selling season. They danced to a song called "Kōjō no Tsuki". Their dance became very popular on social media! Even New Zealand's Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, attended the event. She took a picture with the Kiwi Brothers.
Kiwifruit Breeding Centre
The Kiwifruit Breeding Centre is a special place for research. It started in October 2021. This centre is a joint project between Plant & Food Research and Zespri. Its main location is in Te Puke, New Zealand. It also has other sites in Kerikeri, Motueka, and Mt Albert.
This centre focuses on making kiwifruit even better. They work on improving how kiwifruit is grown and developing new types. Their main goals are to create kiwifruit varieties that are:
- Healthier for you
- Taste even better
- More friendly to the environment
Matt Glenn is the first CEO of this important centre.
See also
In Spanish: Zespri para niños
