[Press Release] Zespri Reveals Bold New Brand Identity

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February 5, 2020 – Zespri, the world’s leading marketer of kiwifruit, has unveiled its first new look in its 22-year history, with a refreshed brand providing a strong platform for the company to continue its recent growth.

With operating revenue of $3.14 billion in 2018/19, Zespri continues to make excellent progress toward its goal of reaching $4.5 billion in sales by 2025, driven by the commitment of its 2,800 New Zealand and 1,500 offshore growers to produce premium-quality kiwifruit.

Revealed at the world’s leading fresh produce exhibition, Berlin Fruit Logistica, the new brand better reflects the company’s purpose, which is to help people, communities and the environment thrive through the goodness of kiwifruit.

The refresh includes a new brand vision, a new brand tagline and a new visual identity that captures the burst of flavor consumers get from biting into a Zespri kiwifruit.

Chief Growth Officer Jiunn Shih says the New Zealand kiwifruit industry has invested significantly in developing the Zespri brand and the refresh was designed to position the company for its next phase of growth.

“We see evidence that consumers today are making more considered purchasing decisions and looking for brands that have a purpose and set of values they can personally identify with.

“We’re proud of our purpose and our values, including our role as ‘kaitiaki’ (guardians) for our future generations, and consumers can expect to see that increasingly brought through in our refreshed visual identity.

Shih says the refresh had been an extensive process, including looking at how Zespri could better connect emotionally with consumers and build a stronger, more intuitive brand identity.

“We’re confident that our new brand will resonate not only with our loyal fans but pique the interest of new ones, helping differentiate Zespri in the fresh produce market so we can continue to grow our share of the global fruit bowl.”

Customers and consumers will see a refreshed Zespri logo featuring the use of a green fan, inspired by the vibrant cross section of a kiwifruit with different shades of green bursts, and a red wordmark reflecting the energy and dynamism of the Zespri brand.

Having worked extensively with some of the world’s leading market research agencies on developing and validating the new brand direction, Zespri was delighted to see that in testing, the new logo was clearly recognized by regular Zespri users with higher predisposition to choose Zespri.

Shih says the refreshed brand also recognizes the fact that consumers are increasingly health conscious, looking for snacking options that are healthy, tasty and natural.

“Zespri kiwifruit are not only among the world’s most nutritious fruits, but they also taste amazing, so consumers can make the better choice of reaching for a snack that is both healthy and delicious.

“And to celebrate the importance of being healthy, we’ve introduced a new tagline, empowering our people to ‘make your healthy irresistible.’”

The new brand will be progressively rolled out across Zespri packaging and collateral and enter markets from May 2020, with Zespri set to make its biggest ever investment in marketing in 2020 to ensure a strong brand impact and reach as many consumers as possible.

The refresh follows the company’s operating revenue hitting $3 billion for the first time, and its announcement in late 2019 that Zespri is commercializing a new red kiwifruit variety that will play an important role in attracting even more consumers to the kiwifruit category. The company will also host its industry conference – Momentum 2020: Standing Up and Standing Out – next week in New Zealand, which will introduce how Zespri is transforming to a future-proof organization in a fast-changing environment.

“This is a really exciting time for Zespri and our industry on the back of the strong growth we’ve seen and the increasing global demand for nutritious products like our Zespri kiwifruit.

“We can’t wait to share our new look with growers and consumers, and look forward to helping even more people, communities and the environment around the world thrive through the goodness of kiwifruit in the years ahead,” Shih says.

About Zespri Group Ltd.

With a global operating revenue of $3.1 billion in 2018/19, Zespri is one of the world’s most successful horticulture marketing companies and the Zespri brand is recognized as the world leader in premium-quality kiwifruit. Based in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand, it is 100% owned by current or past kiwifruit growers and employs over 500 people in New Zealand, Asia, Europe and the Americas. On behalf of its 2,800 growers in New Zealand and 1,500 growers based elsewhere, Zespri manages kiwifruit innovation and supply management, distribution management and marketing of Zespri Green, Zespri SunGold, Zespri Organic, Zespri Gold, Zespri Sweet Green and Zespri Red kiwifruit.

About the refreshed Zespri brand

The refreshed look is the perfect embodiment of Zespri’s distinctive brand, capturing the burst of flavor you get from biting into a Zespri kiwifruit. It reflects the Zespri of today – bold, playfully unexpected and real. The green fan takes inspiration from the vibrant cross section of the kiwifruit, with its different shades of green bursts, while the red wordmark illustrates the energy and dynamism of the Zespri brand. The refreshed brand will progressively be rolled out across Zespri packaging and collateral from May 2020.

Images: Zespri