Zespri has commenced a pre-commercial trial of red kiwifruit in a limited number of stores in Belgium. Zespri's newest kiwifruit variety, RubyRed is in its third year of commercial production this year with the fruit grown in New Zealand creating a lot of excitement in market with consumers loving the sweet berry-tinged taste.
With RubyRed having a shorter shelf life compared to Zespri SunGold and Zespri Green, to date Zespri has prioritised its Asian markets given the shorter marine transit times from New Zealand.
Steven Martina, Zespri's President – Europe, says, "We know there's strong demand in our other markets for red, including in Europe, and we've had growing trials underway here, with a limited red crop grown in Italy. We're now entering the second phase of our trial and this fall this we will carry out pre-commercial testing in Belgium of the red fruit produced in Italy to capture consumer insights to support the potential introduction of Zespri Red in Europe. Given the limited amount of fruit we've opted for a small scale trial in a limited number of stores in Belgium, which also allows our teams to closely monitor the trial."
The red fruit will only be available in a pre-pack over the month of Octobre in a limited number of stores.
For more information:
Nele Moorthamers
Zespri
[email protected]