How 'kiwi' became Kiwi

Kiwifruit

(Actinidia deliciosa) is native to China and traditionally used for medicinal purposes.

Many New Zealanders believe kiwifruit are 'ours', but they’re grown all over the world. China, Italy, and Chile are the other major producers.

Cultivation of what was then called 'Chinese gooseberries' spread to New Zealand at the turn of the 20th century via missionaries.

But gooseberries – delicious in their way – have a bit of a bad rap as very tart. It wasn't a good description of the kiwifruit’s sweet flesh.

In the mid-1970s, a creative marketer came up with the name 'kiwifruit' (overseas, they shorten it to 'kiwi'), and it took off.

There are about 60 different varieties of kiwifruit, and the industry in NZ is worth over $2 billion. This year, commercial growers will plant a newlydeveloped red-fleshed kiwifruit variety.