Kiwi is the No. 20 selling fruit in North America. This factoid illustrates the consideration problem that New Zealand brand Zespri faced when it was launching its newer, sweeter yellow variety of kiwi, the SunGold, in the U.S. market. Secondarily, the typical American shopper stays within the ABCs (Apples, Bananas, Citrus) when it comes to buying fruit, and the small, exotic kiwifruit has a high price tag compared to other produce.

Our objective: Build trial of the tropically sweet SunGold Kiwifruit by getting people to stop buying produce on autopilot. And teach people in an interesting way that the golden kiwi is a game changer. It’s one of the most nutrient dense fruits. Plus, it’s sweeter and juicier than the green garden variety.

Our target shoppers were “naturally curious” health shoppers. Curiosity is important to the brand because these people are willing to go beyond their ABC’s and try new things. We could make that “new thing” a “Z thing” — Zespri SunGold Kiwifruit.

“Let Your Taste Wander.” We introduced the concept of wandering and conceived a campaign platform to encourage American shoppers to let their taste buds try something new — the tropically sweet, deliciously nutritious, yellow kiwi. Advertising likened the experience of shopping for and tasting a SunGold Kiwifruit to exploring an unknown, magical world that’s hidden right in their supermarket’s local exotic fruit section.

Through a unique animated execution, we created an emotionally connective “brand” within a category (produce) which has traditionally been sold without packaging and is typically nameless. Zespri is not just another piece of fruit. But it’s a brand that health-seekers can buy into.

Our brand movement reached over 3MM new mouths, growing household penetration by +2.1 points. Sales increased by 52%, with SunGold being responsible for 44% of the entire kiwi category’s growth for the year.