Kiwifruit might not sound like a high-drama category, but Zespri is quietly running one of the more sophisticated brand machines in global fresh produce.

In October 2025, Zespri confirmed that Kok Hwee Ng has been promoted to Chief Marketing Officer, after several years as General Manager, Global Marketing.

She now leads global marketing strategy and consumer engagement for what Zespri describes as the world’s largest marketer of kiwifruit, selling into over 59 markets from its sales and marketing hub in Singapore and head office in New Zealand.

Kok Hwee joined Zespri in 2017 and has been central to its brand refresh and 2035 strategy, which positions Zespri around health, sustainability and premium quality rather than just being another fruit label in the supermarket.

Before Zespri, she spent more than 20 years in FMCG and fresh produce marketing, including leadership roles at Procter & Gamble and Mondelez International across Asia, working on brands such as SK-II, Olay and Cadbury.

Recently, speaking at the China International Import Expo, she described China as a “strategic stronghold and core growth engine” for Zespri and talked about using kiwifruit to help families build healthier eating habits, especially through education programs for children.

What makes this appointment interesting is how clearly it lines up with Zespri’s growth thesis.

Fresh fruit is one of the toughest places to build a real brand. Most shoppers default to whatever looks good and is on promotion. Zespri is trying to break that pattern by turning kiwifruit into a recognisable, trusted label that stands for health, taste and consistency – the kind of name you actively look for in the produce aisle.

Putting someone with deep FMCG experience in the CMO chair signals that Zespri wants to behave less like a commodity marketer and more like a consumer brand house. You can imagine a few themes becoming even more important:

• Health storytelling backed by education programs, not just pack claims

• Season-long campaigns that nudge people into buying kiwifruit regularly, not just when they see a display

• Stronger market-specific execution in places like China, where consumption is growing fast and the brand already has momentum

Kok Hwee’s background across beauty, confectionery and fresh produce means she’s used to working in categories where emotion, habit and shelf presence all matter. If Zespri continues to invest behind that combination, you’d expect to see more consistent brand cues worldwide and a tighter link between health positioning and everyday purchase behaviour.

For your readers, this move is a neat example of a company in a so-called “low-involvement” category using senior marketing talent to turn a simple product into something people recognise, trust and keep coming back to.