Zespri powers up New Zealand kiwifruit sales with marketing tour
Zespri powers up New Zealand kiwifruit sales with marketing tour
What do the Atlanta Zoo, an all-female triathlon in Boston, the NASA campus in Houston and Seattle's Microsoft cafeteria have in common? These diverse locales, and about 400 grocery stores in between, all enjoyed energizing visits from the Zespri kiwifruit Power UP team in July and August.
"Power UP," Zespri's 10-city promotional campaign, brought branded vehicles, local marketing experts, New Zealand kiwifruit growers, retailers and thousands of consumers together in a mobile celebration of Zespri kiwifruit's excellent taste and nutrition merits.
"When kiwifruit was named as a superfood in Dr. Steven Pratt's best-selling book [SuperFoods HealthStyle], we saw an opportunity to educate people across the U.S. and Canada about the real benefits of enjoying Zespri kiwifruit every day," Karen Brux, general manager of North America for Zespri International Ltd., said in a statement.
The sampling events took place in Atlanta; Boston; Chicago; Houston; San Francisco; Seattle; Portland, OR; Washington, DC; Vancouver, BC; and Toronto.
"The campaign unquestionably strengthened sales at retail," Ms. Brux said. "Some stores sold as many as a dozen boxes of Zespri green and Zespri gold kiwifruit during a three-hour sampling visit. Our team equipped produce managers with information, point-of- sale materials, kiwifruit spoons [called spifes], display units and other tools to help encourage repeat purchase and keep the momentum of the campaign rolling beyond our appearance at the store."
Ms. Brux said that "Power UP" was both an opportunity to reintroduce consumers to the "wonderful taste of Zespri green kiwifruit" and a vehicle to share Zespri's tropical sweet, newer variety, Zespri gold kiwifruit.
"Although the gold variety has been available for about six years, there are still many consumers who are not familiar with it," she said. "People loved the mellow tropical flavor and fabulous nutrition benefits, and retailers across the nation were thrilled with sales resulting from demos. The road show was instrumental in demonstrating that when people try gold, they buy gold."
She added, "Wherever 'Power UP' traveled, it was clear that people really do love kiwifruit. But it can be so well hidden in the produce section that it is easily missed by shoppers. The campaign showed us that sampling, good display space and consistent quality are keys to energizing kiwifruit sales."
Many people who sampled the fruit were pleasantly surprised by how great a kiwifruit can taste, Ms. Brux noted.
"With the Zespri system, consumers can be assured of a consistent eating experience, which is essential to growing kiwifruit consumption in North America," she said. "The greatest focus of Zespri is taste, and our 'Power UP' sales clearly demonstrated the difference this makes with consumers and repeat purchases of kiwifruit."
Zespri green and gold kiwifruit are still in peak season and will be available into October.
"Power UP," Zespri's 10-city promotional campaign, brought branded vehicles, local marketing experts, New Zealand kiwifruit growers, retailers and thousands of consumers together in a mobile celebration of Zespri kiwifruit's excellent taste and nutrition merits.
"When kiwifruit was named as a superfood in Dr. Steven Pratt's best-selling book [SuperFoods HealthStyle], we saw an opportunity to educate people across the U.S. and Canada about the real benefits of enjoying Zespri kiwifruit every day," Karen Brux, general manager of North America for Zespri International Ltd., said in a statement.
The sampling events took place in Atlanta; Boston; Chicago; Houston; San Francisco; Seattle; Portland, OR; Washington, DC; Vancouver, BC; and Toronto.
"The campaign unquestionably strengthened sales at retail," Ms. Brux said. "Some stores sold as many as a dozen boxes of Zespri green and Zespri gold kiwifruit during a three-hour sampling visit. Our team equipped produce managers with information, point-of- sale materials, kiwifruit spoons [called spifes], display units and other tools to help encourage repeat purchase and keep the momentum of the campaign rolling beyond our appearance at the store."
Ms. Brux said that "Power UP" was both an opportunity to reintroduce consumers to the "wonderful taste of Zespri green kiwifruit" and a vehicle to share Zespri's tropical sweet, newer variety, Zespri gold kiwifruit.
"Although the gold variety has been available for about six years, there are still many consumers who are not familiar with it," she said. "People loved the mellow tropical flavor and fabulous nutrition benefits, and retailers across the nation were thrilled with sales resulting from demos. The road show was instrumental in demonstrating that when people try gold, they buy gold."
She added, "Wherever 'Power UP' traveled, it was clear that people really do love kiwifruit. But it can be so well hidden in the produce section that it is easily missed by shoppers. The campaign showed us that sampling, good display space and consistent quality are keys to energizing kiwifruit sales."
Many people who sampled the fruit were pleasantly surprised by how great a kiwifruit can taste, Ms. Brux noted.
"With the Zespri system, consumers can be assured of a consistent eating experience, which is essential to growing kiwifruit consumption in North America," she said. "The greatest focus of Zespri is taste, and our 'Power UP' sales clearly demonstrated the difference this makes with consumers and repeat purchases of kiwifruit."
Zespri green and gold kiwifruit are still in peak season and will be available into October.
