The Italian organic kiwifruit branded as Kiwiny has hit the shelves in Australia and will be available until the end of May. The Green Kiwiny of Giavera del Montello owner Philipp Breitenberger spoke with www.freshfruitportal.com about the success of his first Australian export program and ambitions to break into other global markets as the demand for kiwifruit grows. 

"Signing up to this collaboration with the Australian-based Premier Fruits Group has been fantastic for our business and means we could start shipping larger quantities of Italian Kiwiny to Australia for the first time," says Breitenberger.

"We started the collaboration late last year as we had been looking for a new partner in Australia as it's a great market for selling fresh fruit, particularly in the organic category. This market demands high quality kiwifruit with a long life and that is something we can deliver so we were really keen to make a break through. We feel like we've conquered Australia.

"We sent one large container as a kind of experiment to begin with and after getting good feedback we exported another container to supply the Australian market over the summer period and so our Kiwinys have been available for a few weeks now."

Kiwiny brand

Breitenberger is confident the Kiwiny trademark is distinctive enough that he can replicate the Australian success in other markets, and is particularly enthusiastic about opportunities in the U.K., continental Europe and non-European countries where consumer interest in kiwifruit is growing.

"The kiwifruit grows in our farm in Treviso and we have packing and sorting operations so that means we can focus on building the brand of Kiwiny in order to make them stand out in markets all over the world.

The Green Kiwiny of Giavera del Montello owner Philipp Breitenberger

"We knew that Australian consumers wanted organic kiwifruit and we wanted to supply the market at a time when other countries in the Southern Hemisphere could not do so. There has also been a lot of focus on our brand name as consumers expect high quality kiwifruit and by concentrating on quality and packaging we make sure the Kiwiny brand is synonymous with great quality Italian kiwifruit.

"The quality of the fruit is excellent because the Treviso region is close to water, has a great climate where it does not get too cold in the winter or too hot in the summer and the soil quality is also good which means the fruit grows extremely well."

Future expansion

The Kiwiny marketing campaign ends in Australia when suppliers from New Zealand take over in the coming weeks says Breitenberger and this will be when alternative markets will be explored.

"We have enough volume and I'd love to get into the European Union, especially the U.K. because consumers there are very driven by organics.

"I’m also looking at other non-European markets like Dubai and Asia because the reputation of kiwifruit is growing in these countries as more consumers realise the fruit is packed with fiber and has a high vitamin C content.

"The future for the Italian kiwifruit will be very interesting as there seems to be more interest around the world. As our company grows, I’d like to focus on other countries where demand is high."

 www.freshfruitportal.com