GROWERS ARE OUR
HEART AND SOUL
GROWERS ARE OUR
HEART AND SOUL
Zespri works with over 2500 growers in New Zealand, 500 in Italy, 800 in Japan, 130 in Korea and 100 in France. Around the world our growers share our philosophies and our ambition to continue to strive for perfect kiwifruit.
People want to work in the Kiwifruit Industry and every employee will be
valued, safe
and supported
in their jobs
Safety & wellbeing
Human Rights & Modern Slavery
Ethical Business Practices
We will
Attract Talent
and continue to build a
Thriving Workforce
amongst our value chain
By 2030
We will partner with
communities on
Healthy Lifestyle
Programmes
in our major markets
By 2022
People want to work in the Kiwifruit Industry and every employee will be valued, safe and supported in their jobs
We will attract talent and continue to build a thriving workforce amongst our value chain by 2023
We will partner within communities on healthy lifestyle programmes in our major markets by 2022
People want to work in the Kiwifruit Industry and every employee will be
valued, safe
and supported
in their jobs
We will
Attract Talent
and continue to build a
Thriving workforce
amongst our value chain
By 2022
We will partner with communities on
Healthy Lifestyle
Programmes
in our major markets
By 2022
RIPENING TIPS
Zespri™ Kiwifruit are sweeter when they are fully ripe. Here’s how you know:
ZESPRITM ORGANIC SUNGOLDTM
Our organic kiwifruit conform to the strict New Zealand organic quality and safety guidelines and then we take it a step further.
Organic Practices
All-natural fertilisers and recycled resources Zespri Organic Kiwifruits are
grown in orchards using only organic and mineral fertilisers which do not
pollute the soil. The growers use natural substances, such as compost or
algae, to combat parasites and plant diseases. Herbicides, insecticides or
other synthetic substances do not enter the orchard, which means that
Zespri Organic Kiwifruits grows in complete harmony with nature. Zespri
Organic Kiwifruits are available in both Green and Sungold varieties.
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Supporting our communities
Zespri takes immense pride in the fact that our success is our communities’ success. Because the local communities where we grow kiwifruit have such a strong influence on our industry, we want to be a strong supporter of our people and our communities.
ZESPRI AIMS GAMES
Zespri AIMS Games is an inter-school sporting competition that will be held in Tauranga in 2022 for young sportspeople across New Zealand. It is the largest sporting event for 11–13-year-olds in the Southern Hemisphere, with over 11,500 athletes at the 2019 Games – more than the number of athletes at the Olympics. Zespri AIMS Games encourages active lifestyles, fair play, and participation across a variety of sports.
Find out more
ZESPRI AIMS GAMES
Zespri AIMS Games is an inter-school sporting competition that will be held in Tauranga in 2022 for young sportspeople across New Zealand. It is the largest sporting event for 11–13-year-olds in the Southern Hemisphere, with over 11,500 athletes at the 2019 Games – more than the number of athletes at the Olympics. Zespri AIMS Games encourages active lifestyles, fair play, and participation across a variety of sports.
Find out more
OUR KIWIFRUIT
Zespri is the world leader in kiwifruit breeding and innovation. Through our sophisticated natural breeding programme, we have created the world’s most successful commercial kiwifruit varieties. Our growers – in New Zealand and in select offshore locations – know exactly how to get the most out of a hectare of fertile land.
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A YEAR IN THE ORCHARD
As peaceful as a kiwifruit orchard might appear, there’s never a dull moment in our process of working towards the perfect fruit.
The vines lay dormant but this is the time where our pruners get busy. They artfully remove the previous season’s fruiting canes while selecting new canes which will form the foundations of the new crop.
It is an exciting moment when the first flower buds burst to life each Spring. The vines have started the first step in making fruit and the bees then move between the flowers pollinating them in the process. Which will transform the flowers into small berries.
This is the time of year that you can almost hear the vines and fruit growing in the orchard. It is so vigorous that the canopy often has to be pruned and the kiwifruit crop itself thinned to optimise fruit size.
The summer heat passes and as the days and nights cool the promise of harvest hangs in the air. A sample is taken from every orchard to assess the optimum moment for harvest. And then suddenly, thanks to the swift and sure hands of our pickers, the kiwifruit are picked, carefully packed and whisked to the world.
ŌTANEWAINUKU KIWI TRUST
Across the hills and deep in the forest we stand with the Ōtanewainuku Kiwi Trust which is helping restore and regenerate the local kiwi population.
This dedicated group of volunteers are helping increase the survival rate of our most precious bird (and our fruit's namesake) and rely on organisations like ours to help fund crucial transmitting gear for tracking or helicopters to assist with egg recovery and hatching operations at Rainbow Springs. Zespri is excited to partner with Ōtanewainuku Kiwi Trust.
Ōtanewainuku Kiwi Trust is a community volunteer group assisting the kiwi population just beyond the kiwifruit heartland of Te Puke. It recovers eggs from the forests, hatches them at Rainbow Springs, raises them at a crèche so they are a bit older and smarter and releases them into a pest-controlled section of Ōtanewainuku Forest.
Our $150,000 three-year commitment will fund transmitting gear for tracking Kiwis, pay for helicopters on egg recovery ops in inaccessible parts of the forest and cover the cost of egg hatching at Rainbow Springs.