On July 14, 2020, Zespri and Dole signed a strategic cooperation agreement in Shanghai. As a result, Dole officially became a Zespri distribution partner in China market mutually accelerating development in China market.
Terry Chan, General Manager of Dole China and Michael Jiang, General Manager of Zespri Greater China jointly sign the strategic cooperation agreements
Terry Chan, General Manager of Dole China, said: "We are very pleased to have this strategic cooperation with Zespri. Zespri is a world-renowned kiwifruit grower and distributor whose products are popular with consumers. Zespri’s high quality requirement coincides with Dole's core concept of 'Quality is the foundation of our reputation' and ‘Dole Sunshine For All’." Dole currently has 12 distribution centers in Shanghai, Beijing, Dongguan, Shenyang, Zhengzhou, Xiamen, Xi'an, Qingdao, Chongqing, Chengdu, Wuhan and Kunming, operating more than 90 items from 17 countries.
All Dole distribution centers are equipped with advanced equipment, such as pre-cooling, storage, computerized ripening facilities and etc. Through scientific control and rich experience in kiwifruit ripening, storage and logistics, the DC’s can protect the excellent quality of Zespri kiwifruits.
Dole distribution center in Shanghai
Michael Jiang, General Manager of Zespri Greater China, said: "Dole is the world-renowned fruits and vegetable producer and distributor who has abundant strength in fruit distribution, packaging, and storage. We believe that Dole will provide a strong impetus for the sales growth of Zespri kiwifruit in the Chinese market and help Zespri to deepen our market structure."
Zespri was established in 1997 and its kiwifruit are sold in more than 50 countries around the world. In the 2020 season, Zespri is planning to supply about 155 million standard retail boxes (600,000 tons) of kiwifruits to consumers around the world.
Orchard of Zesprit kiwifruit
As Zespri's largest market, China has always been the top priority of Zespri's business development. At present, Zespri still has huge market potential in Chinese consumers. Dole has been present in the Chinese market for more than 20 years and has extensive operating experience in channel management. At present, Dole has more than 1900 store clients including 12 national supermarket systems, 35 well-known local supermarket systems, and 32 well-known fruit chain customers, covering more than 190 cities. Zespri hopes that through cooperating with Dole, it can continue to explore the development opportunities of various channels, improve operation efficiency and provide quality services to channel clients.
Zespri kiwifruits have gone on sale in Wal-Mart
The cooperation has been officially launched. It is reported that after rapid technical communication, the first batch of Zespri kiwifruit took less than a week from reaching Dole Shanghai distribution center for ripening to supermarket shelves. The Zespri kiwifruit operated by Dole have been sold in 89 stores of Wal-Mart now.
Zespri’s and Dole’s new logo
Coincidentally, both companies have updated their brand this year with new logos. The two parties will plan new channels including convenience stores and explore new business channels for fresh-cut kiwifruits through collaboration. Both parties will continue to research consumers’ needs and will bring kiwifruit into more venues such as restaurants and beverage stores in the future and work together to bring a healthy and high-quality kiwifruit experience to more Chinese consumers.
