Leading kiwifruit industry science is being showcased at Zespri in Mount Maunganui today at the marketer's inaugural Kiwifruit Innovation Symposium.

'This is an innovation conference for the industry and with the industry,” says Zespri chief executive Lain Jager.

Zespri chief executive Lain Jager at the 2015 Kiwifruit Innovation Symposium in Mount Maunganui today. Photo: Jamie Troughton/Dscribe Media Services.

'We need to innovate faster than the competition to stay relevant to our consumers and drive value back to our industry.”

More than $35 million is invested in kiwifruit innovation each year, says Lain.

The new cultivar breeding programme accounts for more than half of Zespri's innovation funding – with over $20 million invested each year – and has produced the game-changing SunGold (Gold3) and Hort16A varieties, adding nearly $4 billion to the NZ economy.

Bryan Parkes, Operations Manager for the Zespri-Plant & Food Research breeding programme will update the audience on progress towards producing another revolutionary cultivar for the kiwifruit category.

'By bringing our Zespri innovation leaders together along with so many of our research partners, we can show the industry the great work that's going on right across the industry,” says Zespri General Manager Marketing & Innovation Carol Ward.

'Zespri set up this event to profile the work underway across the industry, share findings and get industry input into directions and priorities for future research.”

Zespri Innovation Leader Juliet Ansell will speak about how consumers around the world connect health with food, and how Zespri's investment in health research supports its premium position in the market.

'The work towards recognised regulatory health claims and scientifically-proven health benefits underpins this and gives the industry credibility with health professionals and consumers,” says Juliet.

The sold-out symposium also includes interactive workshops exploring topics as diverse as how a new green cultivar would be integrated into Zespri's portfolio, ways to transfer innovations quickly throughout the industry and how the industry can apply learnings from Psa.

Exploring the limits of kiwifruit production will also be outlined.

With sales revenues of $1.57 billion in 2014/15, Zespri is one of the world's most successful horticulture marketing companies, and is 100 percent owned by current or past kiwifruit growers, employing about 350 people in New Zealand, Asia, Europe and the Americas.