Zespri Innovation Fund (ZAG)

Zespri, the world’s largest kiwifruit marketer, has launched the Zespri Innovation Fund (ZAG), under which it will commit US $2M annually. ZAG is calling upon forward-thinking visionaries, the disruptors, the dreamers, and the darers to unlock the power of collaboration and pool their ingenious concepts with those of Zespri.

The fund is designed to attract innovative problem solvers to help address some of the key challenges the industry faces as it meets the growing demand for kiwifruit.

Is this fund just for the kiwi industry needs?

Solutions may go on to have applications for other industries as it can be amplified across other agricultural industries that face similar challenges as us. 

Closes

• Monday 30 June 2025 (12pm Australia/Sydney)

Four focus areas:

• Good for people

  • Advancing the applied science around the benefits of kiwifruit that have a positive impact on people’s health and nutrition

  • Promote the habit of healthy eating by getting people to consume the recommended grams of fruit a day (equivalent to 2 kiwifruits)

• Good for communities

  • Solutions that help enhance the wellbeing of people working with Zespri (on-orchard, post-harvest, and through the global supply chain) that creates long term sustainable value for our growers and industry, and that allow us to continue to make positive contributions to our communities.

• Good for the environment

  • Solutions and technologies that help reduce our footprint from orchard to table (post-harvest, shipping and more) and aid the seamless adoption of these technologies by growers.

  • Solutions that support the development of closed loop systems and zero impact packaging.

  • Waste management solutions in our value chain that help us in reducing, re-cycling and up-cycling expendable resources and material.

  • Ideas that help with sustainably managing water resources (quality and efficiency).

• Good for our fruit

  • Automation, data and tools for on-orchard decision making and measuring fruit quality, improving yield and/or increasing efficiency.

  • Solutions that enhance soil and land, water management and pest / disease control, thereby improving quality and the nutritional value of kiwifruit.

  • Solutions that help safeguard and protect kiwifruit from the challenges posed by climate change, including prediction and AI technology for efficient use of resources such as water.

Who should apply

• Startups

• Social enterprises

• Companies

• Universities / Research institutes

Why?

• No equity partnership

• Working with an established top brand

• Global pilot potential and amplifiable opportunities to other industries

Will all funding pilots be NZ based?

No. We are seeking the best solutions, regardless where they come from. Depending on the areas of impact, the pilot can be conducted across our operations globally.