To thrive, kiwifruit vines need a site with sun and moisture, slightly acidic soil and protection from wind and frost. If that makes them sound like divas, that’s fine with us. It’s why they produce wonderful fruit.

Kiwifruit need their space, but they grow particularly vigorously. So they are pruned regularly to give them good airflow and plenty of sun. It is a natural way of keeping diseases and fungi at bay.

We don’t let any nutrients go to waste, which is why all our prunings are mulched and then used to enrich the soil or our orchards.

We don’t let any nutrients go to waste, which is why all our prunings are mulched and then used to enrich the soil or our orchards.

Water is precious, whether for kiwifruit vines or people. Through our managed irrigation, we deliver only the perfect amount of water to each vine, and not a drop more.

Zespri orchards are either organic or have a policy of minimum intervention that prioritises natural herbicides and pesticides, followed by approved chemicals used sparingly in the most extreme cases. This results in safer, more natural fruit for you.

We have fruit from every orchard independently tested for agrochemical residue before harvest. Doing right by anyone who might enjoy our kiwifruit later.

There is a moment when the balance of taste and shelf-life makes a kiwifruit perfect for picking. It varies depending on each orchard’s micro-climate and can even vary within a single orchard. We monitor and choose the precise moment to pick the fruit, and never compromise.

Once picked, it is important that the fruit ‘sleep’ naturally without adding any chemical agents. So, Zespri kiwifruit are put to bed in cold storage at 1 -1.5ºC as they await their journey to market.

Zespri transport packaging is 100% recyclable or re-usable and uses non-toxic water-based inks. We are constantly developing our packaging to have less and less of an environmental impact. We won’t stop developing until our packaging is as friendly as our growers.

From the moment Zespri kiwifruit leave the orchard, they are kept in ideal cool conditions, so that they may arrive to you in nothing less than perfect condition.

Every box of kiwifruit has its own unique code. So at any given time, the provenance, cultivation and shipping details of any supply is known. Think of this as surveillance for kiwifruit.