TWISTS & TURNS
Meet the Gisborne citrus business that’s grown from selling from a roadside stall to delivering door-to-door.
Bron Kemp, the marketing mastermind behind her family’s online fresh fruit delivery service, twisted Citrus, declares she had no previous marketing experience, and simply ‘fell into business’. But with a health background, the former nurse must be justifiably proud that she is now responsible for seeing some of the freshest fruit go into Kiwi homes around the country.
Based just a few kilometres out of gisborne, where Bron’s husband sandy tends the family’s four-hectare orange, lime and kiwifruit orchard, twisted Citrus draws on 12 other trusted growers to provide fruit for its packing house. Produce is picked twice a week, and it’s packed and in the post the very next day.
“it can be a bit of a logistical nightmare at times,” laughs Bron nervously, “especially if there’s been rain the night before. But we get there!”
‘getting there’ may be an understatement given the growing demand for twisted Citrus’s fruit boxes filled with, among other goodies, limes, grapefruit, tangelos, mandarins, oranges, lemonades, lemons and kiwifruit. avocados, persimmons, passion fruit, feijoas and tamarillos are also on offer. in fact, the produce list is ever-growing, with blueberries, apples, pears and plums having been recently introduced, along with marmalade, lemon curd and citrus chutney, all made by twisted Citrus – a name no one can remember quite how it was dreamed up!
But marketing means nothing if the produce isn’t the best, and this is where gisborne’s climate and soil come into play.
“We have the most amazing climate for citrus,” says Bron. “our summers are warm and our winters are chilly, but not freezing cold. We rarely dip below 2°C, but that’s still cold enough to encourage the skins of the fruit to change colour.”
that change in colour, from green to bright orange or yellow, is essential, says Bron. For while the colour change doesn’t improve the fruits’ flavour or texture, it does please the customer. in fact, without it, the fruit simply won’t sell because it will be viewed as being immature.
the local soil type also favours citrus. the Kemps’ orchard, and those of their suppliers, are based in the Poverty Bay flats, a horticulturally exclusive spot that enjoys naturally fertile, alluvial soil.
“a tree planted here will grow three times faster than one planted an hour’s drive away,” says Bron.
For growers who started out selling their fruit from the side of the road, the Kemps’ switch to online selling has been a huge leap.
“demand is such that we now supply just 10 per cent of the fruit we send through the post. the rest comes from other carefully chosen growers,” says Bron, “We’ve had to learn how to be marketers and quality controllers, and how to provide the best customer support.”
the learning curve may have been a steep one, but it has paid off, and despite – or perhaps, in part, because of – the pandemic, sales are soaring.
“the big 2020 may lockdown was initially worrying,” explains Bron. “We didn’t know at first if we would be classed as an essential service or not. once we knew we were, we established strict routines, including social distancing, in the packing shed. our existing customers knew they could trust our protocols, but there
was also a growing demand for door-to-door deliveries because people didn’t want to buy from supermarkets. the customers we made during that period are still ordering from us, even though we’re now well out of lockdown.”
When not in the packing shed, the Kemps’ orchard calendar keeps them on their toes. right now, in the throes of winter, pruning is the order of the day. it is done as soon as the crop is off the trees, with the intention of opening up the growth so that plenty of air can circulate, something which helps keep sooty mould at bay. in spring – Bron’s favourite period of the year due to the heavy scent of citrus blossom in the air – it’s time to feed the hungry trees, and to root rip between plantings to help aerate the soil and keep root spread under control. if conditions are dry, the watering of young trees commences at this time, too.
as long as the trees are actively growing, fertiliser will continue to be applied, along with moisture, but – surprisingly – the grass between plantings is left to grow during the summer. the longer foliage helps prevent the ground from drying out and reduces the amount of irrigation the trees require. it may be a lot of work, but with it comes huge satisfaction. “It’s great to be offering quality fresh fruit that arrives at our customers’ door without having been chilled or coated in wax,” smiles Bron, “and we get such lovely feedback. People tell us that when they eat our fruit, it takes them right back to enjoying it fresh off their mum and dad’s trees, when they were kids.”
as for what’s next on the horizon, Bron is on the hunt for locally grown blood oranges, so if you’re a grower out there who has this fruit available, you know who to call!