Sun-ripened flavour, grown in NZ

This article was produced by Foodstuffs and is being published by the New Zealand Herald as advertorial.

Summer and New Zealand summerfruit go hand in hand.

For a short 13-week window, locally grown peaches, nectarines, apricots, plums and cherries bring colour and flavour to Kiwi tables. Behind that moment of
picking up a perfectly ripe piece of fruit sits generations of growing expertise and long-standing partnerships that move fruit quickly from orchard to store.

In Central Otago, Webb’s Orchard has been growing summerfruit for more than a century. Its relationship with MG Group – the grower co-operative that co-ordinates distribution to Foodstuffs stores – dates back to the 1930s.

Like MG, Foodstuffs operates as a co-operative, with Foodstuffs North Island and Foodstuffs South Island supporting more than 500 locally owned PAK’nSAVE, New World and Four Square stores nationwide.

Fourth-generation grower Simon Webb describes the partnership as central to the orchard’s success. Long-term relationships and consistent communication help ensure fruit reaches customers in top condition each season.

This year has tested that system. Cooler conditions delayed harvest by around a week and a half, and yields are lighter. But the eating quality is strong.

“The summerfruit we’re getting to the consumer is good quality, but as a grower, it’s been a tougher season,” Webb says. “We’re a little bit later in our harvest because of the cold, but the eating quality is still up there.”

He samples constantly in the orchard – sometimes up to 20 pieces a day. A recent honey nectarine block stood out. “It was beautiful.”

Jerry Prendergast of MG agrees. A recent Central Otago honey peach enjoyed with Camembert was, he says, “just beautiful eating”. Early heat followed by cooler temperatures helped the fruit mature evenly on the tree. “We’re seeing really high quality, not a massive yield, but for eating it’s superb.”

Cherries, too, delivered bright colour and strong flavour, despite the usual uncertainty that comes with the crop. As 3rd generation co-owner of Panmure Orchards, Jeremy Hiscock puts it, cherry production can feel like gold mining: when it comes together, it’s worth it.

Summerfruit demands precise timing. Once ripe, there are only days to pick, pack and move it to stores. This season’s delayed start was followed by cancelled Cook Strait ferry sailings, requiring rapid adjustments. B-trains and short-term storage were deployed to keep fruit moving and maintain quality.

That ability to pivot rests on trust and experience. Growers, MG and Foodstuffs teams are in frequent contact throughout the season, co-ordinating harvest timing, logistics and store demand. Conversations range from daily operational calls to longer-term planning around plantings, changing consumer preferences and infrastructure.

It’s a supply chain built on relationships measured in decades and generations. From orchard rows in Central Otago to supermarket shelves across the country, that collaboration ensures New Zealand summerfruit arrives vibrant, sweet and ready to enjoy.

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