Fruit marketer T&G Global is starting a new business to commercialise innovative fruits, and expects to launch 50 new varieties in the next five years, including a yellow raspberry.
The business, VentureFruit, will invest with breeding organisations and research institutes and lead the commercialisation of new varieties.
Developing new varieties of fruit can take about 20 years and is an area where T&G already has experience, having launched apple varieties Pacific Rose, Jazz and Envy to markets around the world. The company recently commercialised the world’s first climate-adapted apple and has a pipeline of premium apple and berry varieties.
T&G chief executive Gareth Edgecombe said unique plant genetics were critical to the future of a sustainable fresh produce sector, which needed to deliver on taste, nutrition, convenience and sustainability.
VentureFruit is co-investing with the government-owned NZ Institute for Plant and Food Research in a range of new and unique berries, and will be the exclusive global commercialisation partner.
T&G is controlled by Germany’s BayWa, which owns about 74 per cent of the company. The company’s shares are listed on the NZX and have gained about 10 per cent over the past year, last trading at $2.93.
