Zespri International

We’re pleased to share our home compostable fruit label has received globally recognised certification from three of the leading certification bodies TÜV AUSTRIA, ABA and DIN Certco. The certification ensures the label can be disposed of in-home compost bins along with fruit peels and other organic waste, breaking down and biodegrading completely without leaving harmful residues in the environment. Exploring more sustainable fruit label options has been an area of focus for Zespri over a number of years with our labels providing an important assurance to consumers that the fruit they are purchasing is authentic, safe and high-quality Zespri Kiwifruit. It’s been fantastic to partner with Sinclair on this innovative development and we intend to change all our fruit to this fully home compostable label, with this transition to take place over the next year 🥝 To read the full media release, click here: https://lnkd.in/gkuwMihr 

That’s a wrap on the Zespri Young and Healthy Virtual Adventure for 2024! More than 20,000 tamariki across New Zealand joined in this year to learn about creating lifelong healthy habits. Founder Kim Harvey has been out visiting classes and hearing how much energy the students have from drinking more water, taking activity breaks and eating more fruits and veggies. Let’s keep up the momentum!

We're still buzzing from the Zespri Aims Games and the amazing support from the teachers, parents, volunteers, and supporters who helped throughout the week. Having now tallied all the points, we're excited to announce the winners for our Zespri hub activities. Athletes had the opportunity to participate in games and spin the wheel, earning points for their schools along the way. The team with the highest points and the winner of this year's $1,000 Sports Distributors voucher is Mount Maunganui Intermediate! Congratulations are also in order for Tāneatua School, which has won the Zespri team photo award for the most likes on their team shot and will receive $500 worth of sports gear for their school. Thanks again to everyone who stopped by and showed such great support for all our athletes during the Zespri AIMS Games. See you next year!

Our Innovation team recently hosted a group of students from local school Ōtūmoetai College at our Zespri headquarters in Mount Maunganui to teach them all about the kiwifruit industry.    The students learnt about every aspect of the Zespri business, from innovation to branding and intellectual property, supply chain and our Zespri culture.    The students were excited and intrigued to know more about the industry and are interested in possibly joining us in future! 🥝

We’ve released a feasibility study into setting up a low-emissions shipping corridor between Tauranga and Zeebrugge via the Panama Canal, commissioned along with one of our key shipping partners, ANL/CMA CGM. The report was released at an event hosted by Associate Transport Minister Matt Doocey at Parliament last night. Reducing shipping emissions is one of the key challenges to decarbonising our kiwifruit industry and growing New Zealand’s export value and the report found that - with concerted action across the supply chain - a low-emissions shipping corridor is possible. Like other New Zealand exporters, we can’t directly reduce shipping emissions ourselves so we’re working with our shipping and distribution partners to work more efficiently and pilot low-emissions fuels as we work towards being carbon positive by 2035 🥝 🚢 To read the full media release and find out more about what we learned from the report, click here: https://lnkd.in/gAr8a5yB

Excitement is in the air as the 19th Zespri AIMS Games School Sporting Championships kicked off this week in Tauranga, welcoming thousands of young athletes from across New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. The two opening ceremonies at Mercury Baypark Arena were an incredible celebration of culture and community with a powerful pōwhiri from Tauranga Intermediate’s kapa haka group followed by tips from New Zealand sporting legends and speeches from Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Tauranga Mayor Mahé Drysdale, emphasising the importance of sportsmanship and physical activity. The energy from the 12,9000 competitors and their supporters has been incredible, and it’s great to see the positive impact the event is having on the community. For schedules or information on what's to come, head to: https://nzaimsgames.co.nz/ #ZespriAimsGames

It's almost Zespri AIMS Games week! As a proud partner, we can't wait to see this fantastic event come to life and welcome almost 13,000 athletes representing 397 schools here to Tauranga Moana.   If you're looking for something to do during your downtime, come and visit our team at the Zespri hub at Blake Park. We'll have plenty of Zespri SunGold™ and Green Kiwifruit, as well as our Zespri Smoothie Bikes, games and activities to keep you busy between competing. This year, we've also added our Kiwi cruiser, so keep an eye out on the Zespri Aims Games app to find us on the day.   By participating in our games and activities, athletes can earn points for their school. The school with the most points at the end of the week will win $1,000 worth of sports gear!   #ZespriAimsGames24

Two of our community partners came together recently with more than 40 teenagers from Tauranga YSAR - Youth Search and Rescue taking to the bush on the outskirts of Te Puke to carry out a mapping exercise to help the Ōtanewainuku Kiwi Trust operate more effectively. The YSAR students spent a day in a pest-controlled section of the Ōtanewainuku Forest armed with GPS devices, digital radios and mapping software on their mobile phones to track and record trap locations across 1,200 hectares of protected kiwi habitat.     It’s great to see YSAR and OKT get together to put the new skills of the Bay of Plenty’s next generation of search and rescue leaders to the test to support our local kiwi population, just behind the kiwifruit capital of the world.

It was a beautiful day for the first-ever RSE Workers’ Sports Festival held at Blake Park in Mount Maunganui at the end of last week. There was an incredible turnout with more than 400 participants from 12 companies playing Rugby Sevens, 6-a-side volleyball and 7-a-side football. The event was about celebrating the important role seasonal workers play in delivering the kiwifruit season, before many of them head back home. With our largest ever crop this year, the work by our RSE community has been monumental, and we’re proud to have got behind this inaugural event. Congratulations to the winning teams! 

We had an excellent turnout yesterday with more than 350 attendees in the room and another 300 online at our 25th Annual General Meeting in Mount Maunganui. Our Chairman Nathan Flowerday and CEO Jason Te Brake delivered their inaugural Chairman and CEO addresses, reflecting on the progress we made in our 2023/24 season in lifting our fruit quality and rebuilding trust and confidence in Zespri after a couple of really challenging seasons. They also highlighted the strong start we've made in our current 2024 season, and some of the key discussions we've got underway as an industry throughout the remainder of the year, including how we protect value for growers and shareholders through a potential expansion of our ZGS programme. The AGM also saw the election of two new grower directors – Andrew Dunstan and Sally Gardiner. Our industry succeeds because we have people with outstanding skills and experience who want to help take it forward, and we look forward to the contribution Andrew and Sally will make in the years ahead.