History Kiwi Fruit - Zespri New Zealand Kiwifruit

			History Kiwi Fruit
		History kiwi fruit - It is nearly a hundred years since the first tiny black kiwifruit seeds were transported from their native China to the rich rural countryside of New Zealand. Much has changed in that time. Pioneering cultivation by outstanding horticulturalists like Hayward Wright not only gave the classic large green ZESPRI™ Kiwifruit its name - Hayward - but also provided the world with one of the world's most singularly delicious and highly nutritious fruits. ZESPRI International has continued the tradition for innovation and improvement. The world-leading integrated ZESPRI™ System gives the customer a guarantee of integrity, traceability, food safety and quality from orchard to shop shelf. And at the beginning of the 21st Century, ZESPRI introduced a new fruit with a new taste - ZESPRI™ GOLD Kiwifruit - developed naturally in the fertile Bay of Plenty. The bright green and golden yellow of 21st Century ZESPRI™ Kiwifruit are part of a proud heritage built by inspired growers who introduced people around the world to a new fruit and a new taste sensation. The story of the ZESPRI™ Kiwifruit we know today really begins with Hayward Wright. Back in 1924, this exceptional New Zealand horticulturalist cultivated today's classic commercial kiwifruit variety. Kiwifruit from that big fruiting cultivar, known as 'Hayward', are now exported all over the world. The early Hayward vines grew easily in the rich volcanic soil and temperate climate of the Bay of Plenty; and it was the pioneering Bay growers that exported the first fruit in 1952, to England. They called it 'kiwifruit' in recognition of New Zealand's national symbol - the plump brown-feathered kiwi. Over the following decades, kiwifruit quality was constantly improved. The industry grew in experience and size and began to operate as a single marketing unit overseas. In the early 1970s, New Zealand kiwifruit growers decided to work together to introduce this new fruit to the world. They agreed to dedicate a proportion of their export earnings to setting rigorous industry standards and funding research on how to grow the best fruit and promote it in the markets of the world. Forty-five years after the first kiwifruit were exported from New Zealand, the ZESPRI™ Kiwifruit brand was born and ZESPRI International Limited became a global marketing organization dedicated to growing and selling only the very best kiwifruit with flair, integrity and commitment Find out more about the history kiwi fruit