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“Golden kiwifruit drove the category dollar gain with sales increasing 125 percent for the 52 weeks ending Dec. 3, 2017. Zespri’s SunGold kiwifruit led the growth and represents 80 percent of the Golden kiwifruit category.”
— Sarah Deaton, Zespri North America
tangy-sweet flavor with a hint of efferves- cence,” says Schulz. “It has a fine, crisp texture and is a great choice for consumers who like
their apples on the crunchy side with plenty of juice. Promoting flavor with sampling and colorful signage is a good way to get
50 / APRIL 2018 / PRODUCE BUSINESS
Zespri’s SunGold kiwifruit has seen a 5,400-percent increase in sales volume in five years.
consumers excited about the apple category.” Playing up the availability of new vari- eties attracts customer attention and sales. “Having a new apple variety to promote creates interest,” says Redners’ Stiles. “When the new apples come in, we put them in a shipper so they stand out. Shoppers will try new apples because it’s something different
but yet familiar.”
Highland Park’s Gibbons agrees on the
benefit of promoting new varieties. “It is always good to promote new apples such as Jazz and Pacific Rose,” he says. “Customers are usually looking to try new varieties of fruit.”
Prowse points to mangos and lychees as perhaps the two most important new products recently gaining access to the United States. “They are still in very early stages of distribu- tion and growth,” he says. “They are unlikely to ever be exported in large volumes, however the limited season availability and quality will find high-end niche sectors. The unique sweet taste and high yellow color of the Australian mangos are a key selling point.”
Gold kiwi is another rising star, and New Zealand Horticulture notes out of the 408,000 tons of kiwi sold worldwide each year, 30 percent is gold varieties. Gold kiwi- fruit continues to grow in popularity and help boost the kiwifruit category, according to Giumarra’s Schulz. “Consumers enjoy its sweet, tropical flavor,” she says.
Zespri reports strong U.S. market growth in particular for the SunGold variety noting recent sales volumes have increased from around 462,000 pounds in 2012 to more than 25.41 million pounds in 2017 — a