Professor Lutz explained that, as two large New Zealand horticultural exporters with strong global brands, Zespri and T&G have committed to develop market opportunities together to grow export sales. “This is a positive collaboration between two large New Zealand exporters.”

McBride added that both companies are major contributors to the New Zealand economy and offer premium branded products supported by innovative marketing. “This MOU formalises our intentions to look for opportunities to use our respective strengths to grow sales.”

The first step in this collaboration can be seen with regulatory approval of a new initiative: the two companies will work together to sell around 1 million trays of Zespri Kiwifruit in Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos in the 2016 season.

“This proactive collaborative marketing partnership will accelerate the growth in kiwifruit sales across a region with huge potential. T&G will develop sales programmes for Zespri Green, Zespri SunGold and T&G products in these four Southeast Asian countries, leveraging the strength of the Zespri brand and marketing strategy with T&G’s existing business expertise, distribution channels and strong product offering,” McBride said.

Professor Lutz says T&G will open an office in Bangkok to represent and support the two companies’ sales programmes. The new team will work together to grow sales of both Zespri and T&G branded products like JAZZ and ENVY apples in the region, with a regional manager already appointed and key account managers appointments to follow.

The collaborative arrangement is the first of its kind to be approved by regulator, Kiwifruit NZ (KNZ), and learning from this programme will be used to inform future collaborative agreements. Under the Kiwifruit Regulations, Zespri is the primary exporter of NZ-grown kiwifruit beyond Australia. However, other exporters can apply to KNZ with proposals to export NZ-grown kiwifruit in collaboration with Zespri.

McBride explained that the recent Kiwifruit Industry Strategy Project (KISP) consultation with growers heralded a change in direction for Zespri and collaborative marketing. “This has opened the way for Zespri to partner with companies which can offer strong coverage in new or developing regions for Zespri and increase returns to our growers.”