Kiwifruit marketer Zespri has revealed its first new brand identity in its 22-year history. A press release on Wednesday announced the refresh as a response to building "a strong platform for the company to continue its recent growth".

The new image of the company includes a new brand vision, a new brand tagline and a new visual identity that it says will "capture the burst of flavor consumers get from biting into a Zespri kiwifruit". Through intensive testing with the world's leading market research agencies on validating the new brand direction, the co-op noted that the new logo was clearly recognized by regular Zespri users with "a higher predisposition to choose Zespri".

Significant investments have been made to reach this point in the branding process. Chief growth officer Jiunn Shih says in the release that the New Zealand kiwifruit industry has created strong efforts to develop the Zespri brand refresh - which is designed to position the company in upcoming growth phases.

It says that the new brand will be progressively rolled out across Zespri packaging and collateral, entering markets from May 2020. In the upcoming year, Zespri is set to make its biggest investment in marketing yet - to "ensure a strong brand impact and reach as many consumers as possible".

Speaking to the importance of appealing to the consumer, Shih details what the kiwifruit company was looking for throughout this marketing research process.

"We see evidence that consumers today are making more considered purchasing decisions and looking for brands that have a purpose and set of values they can personally identify with," Shih explains.

"We’re proud of our purpose and our values, including our role as kaitiaki (guardians) for our future generations, and consumers can expect to see that increasingly brought through in our refreshed visual identity."

Mr Shih says the refresh had been an extensive process, including looking at how Zespri could better connect emotionally with consumers and build a stronger, more intuitive brand identity.

Pinpointing a Zespri image that will resonate with consumers

He went on to say that Zespri is confident that its new brand "will resonate not only with our loyal fans but pique the interest of new ones, helping differentiate Zespri in the fresh produce market so we can continue to grow our share of the global fruit bowl.”

The new logo for the company includes the use of a green fan - what the industry described as being inspired by the vibrant cross-section of a kiwifruit. It also includes a red wordmark "reflecting the energy and dynamism of the Zespri brand".

Not only does the new look appeal to consumers, it also recognizes the fact that consumers are increasingly health conscious and looking to snack on things that are tasty, healthy and natural.

“Zespri Kiwifruit are not only among the world’s most nutritious fruits, but they also taste amazing, so consumers can make the better choice of reaching for a snack that is both healthy and delicious. And to celebrate the importance of being healthy, we’ve introduced a new tagline, empowering our people to ‘make your healthy irresistible’," explains Shih.

Zespri had an operating revenue of US$2 billion in 2018/19, demonstrating "excellent progress". Its goal is to reach US$2.9 billion in sales by 2025 by relying on its 2,800 New Zealand and 1,500 offshore growers to produce its premium-quality kiwifruit.