45 South orchard manager Tim Jones and orchard worker Emma
Rankin, of Cromwell, pick Titan cherries wearing their
Central Otago Premium Fruit Ltd branded T-shirts. Photo by
After a successful first season, a pilot scheme aimed at
developing the Central Otago fruit brand is being expanded.
Under the scheme, about 20 cherry and apricot growers from
around the district banded together, packed their best
quality fruit into specially branded boxes and sold the fruit
into high-end Asian and American markets.
Cromwell's 45 South orchard general manager Tim Jones, a
member of the working party behind the scheme, said it was
not just about selling the fruit but about connecting the
consumer with the grower.
To do that, the Central Otago-branded boxes contained a
leaflet telling the consumer about the region, the fruit and
the grower. This season, they are aiming to take their
cherries to more Asian markets, including Taiwan, Vietnam,
Malaysia and Singapore, in addition to the Chinese, Hong Kong
and Thai markets they sold into last season.
As part of that, they have developed T-shirts screenprinted
with brand logos, which will be sold at Cromwell and Roxburgh
Earlier this year, Mr Jones told the Otago Daily Times
growers had received about $1 more per kilogram for fruit
sold under the brand. He said while the first season went
well, ''there is still a bit of work to do'' . It was not
necessarily about making money but lifting the profile of
Central Otago fruit, and growers having more ownership of
He said with Chilean growers able to produce more than 70,000
tonnes of cherries in a season, and at a lower cost, ''our
only hope is to have the best cherries in the world''.
The 20 or so growers who are involved in the scheme represent
about 80% of cherry growers and 60-70% of apricot growers,
though the percentage of fruit they sell under the brand
could well be only a very small portion of what they produce.
Mr Jones said Central Otago exported 1200 to 1300 tonnes of
cherries last season and only a couple of tonnes had been
sold under the brand.
''This year, we see the opportunity for 50 to 60 tonnes going
into it,'' he said late last week.
With the apricots, he said it was a case of trying to
''relaunch'' the fruit into America - mainly to high-end
retailers on the West Coast.
To do that, they are focusing on sending newer and better
varieties such as Clutha Gold, ''apricots with flavour rather
than just looks''.