Kiwifruit

Our Service

Our specialist teams deliver technical expertise, hands-on orchard support and conversion, compliance guidance, and clear, consistent communication. We also contribute through industry advocacy, orchard trials, and data-driven strategies; giving growers the confidence and tools to achieve strong, reliable results every season.

From Orchard to Market

This month-by-month graphic below shows what’s happening in the orchard and packhouse throughout the year, and how each stage supports quality, consistency, and great fruit for market.

January

Carefully the kiwifruit vines are girdled, the canopy thinned and then we start estimating how much fruit the orchard will produce.

February

The Red kiwifruit harvest begins!

March

Gold and Green KiwiStart gets the kiwifruit harvest fully underway.

April

Gold Mainpack period begins (Gold kiwifruit peak harvest & packing period).

May

Green Mainpack period begins (Green kiwifruit peak harvest & packing period) and vine, crop, structure and infrastructure repairs & maintenance are completed on orchards.

June

Packing finishes and Repack starts (coolstored fruit is checked and repacked for shipment - this process goes through to November). On the orchard we begin winter pruning, soil testing, and vine management, plus pest and disease management.

July

Continued Repack on site, and in the orchard, winter pruning is completed and budbreak enhancers are applied.

August

Monitoring of budbreak begins and frost protection is applied to orchards.

September

Pre-flower girdling begins.

October

Flower counts are completed and bud and flower thinning occurs.

November

Surplus male flowers are harvested for pollen milling during this month, and bees are brought into the orchard to help with pollination. Canopy management is a key focus and at the packhouse Repack ends.

December

The last of the seasons cool - stored trays are shipped to markets and on the orchard summer pruning starts, with a focus on the monitoring of cropload.

Introducing

Our Teams

Kiwifruit Grower Services

The Kiwifruit Grower Services Team are our dedicated points of contact for growers. As experienced industry professionals, they are highly knowledgeable, providing accessible and reliable support to growers year-round. Many of the team own their own orchards, so intimately understand how to navigate the needs and challenges growers have.

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Kiwifruit Technical Team

The Kiwifruit Technical Team are innovative kiwifruit experts, who combine data-driven research, experience, and intuition to develop holistic, practical growing strategies and proactively solve orchard issues. Their expert guidance empowers growers to make confident decisions for their orchards’ long-term success.

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Trevelyan’s Managed Orchards

The Trevelyan’s Managed Orchards (TMO) Team comprises eight Orchard Managers and their respective teams, who are responsible for providing a comprehensive range of on-orchard services, tailored to meet the specific requirements of each grower. Their in-depth knowledge is proven by their impressive production and fruit quality results.

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Industry leaders in

Organics

For over thirty years, Trevelyan’s has been a trusted name in orchard management and packing of organic kiwifruit. In 2025, we submitted over 34% of the industry’s organic Gold kiwifruit and approximately 12% of the industry’s organic Green kiwifruit.

Helpful at

Harvest

Harvest timing

The New Zealand kiwifruit harvest season runs from February to June, starting with Red kiwifruit, followed by Gold and peaking with Green. At Trevelyan’s, we carefully balance weather, fruit maturity, and Zespri requirements to optimise kiwifruit harvest timing, ensuring top-quality fruit and strong grower returns.

Harvest capacity

With four export packhouses (including partial automation), a local market packhouse, and forty-four coolstores (including our Buffer and Controlled Atmosphere rooms), we are well-equipped to handle the capacity demands of the kiwifruit harvest and can accept more fruit from our growers during seasonal peaks.

Harvest coordination

We understand the importance of harvesting fruit at the optimal maturity. Our dedicated Harvest Manager and Coordinator emphasise strong collaboration between harvest contractors, transport and Zespri teams to ensure fruit is harvested promptly and quickly transported to our site, maximising fruit quality and returns.

High-performance

Orchard Management

The Trevelyan's Kiwifruit Managed Orchards Team have extensive experience and a proven track record of delivering high-quality kiwifruit results. They provide a variety of orchard services while maintaining clear and open communication with their growers throughout the process.

Experts in

Packing & Storage

Packing capacity

As New Zealand’s largest single-site kiwifruit packhouse, we pack over 20 million trays each season. Our operation features 44 coolstores and 12 CA rooms, ensuring efficient, high-quality packing and storage for both domestic and international markets while maintaining optimal kiwifruit quality.

Packing efficiency

As a single-site post-harvest facility, Trevelyan’s benefits from streamlined communication, quick decision-making, and strong teamwork across all departments, ensuring reliable, responsive operations. Our circular business model reduces waste and maximises resources efficiency.

Packing for market

Zespri is the world's largest marketer of kiwifruit, making food safety and fruit quality top priorities. At Trevelyan’s, we’re committed to meeting those high standards — maximising the volume of our growers’ premium fruit to market while upholding Zespri’s strict requirements at every stage.

We deeply value

Partnerships

Our collaborative partnerships play a vital role in driving growth. They foster innovation, enhance resource sharing, broaden market reach, and support us in tackling challenges collectively, inspiring us to achieve greater success together.

Our Growers

Our kiwifruit growers trust us to manage their orchards and fruit with care. Throughout the entire supply chain, we help our kiwifruit growers get the best results; a true partnership every step of the way.

Wade & Katherine Evans
Avocado Growers
“Trevelyan’s is an outstanding team to work with. They are always friendly, approachable, and genuinely helpful. Their depth of knowledge and expertise shines through in everything they do, making the entire experience smooth and stress-free. I highly recommend Trevelyan’s to anyone looking for a professional and reliable service."
Ashby Whitehead
Avocado Grower
"Trevelyan’s feels like family. They’re approachable, sustainable, and genuinely value our voice as avocado growers. It’s a true partnership built on trust, care, and shared values."
Brendon & Belinda Jones
Kiwifruit Growers
"We choose Trevelyan’s because they are a family-owned business, and very efficient; always looking to do their best for us. They have a great reputation, and we enjoy working with them!"
Jessica & Kaspar Beech
Kiwifruit Growers
"We choose to partner with Trevelyan’s because they are approachable, transparent and have inspirational sustainability practices. The Trevelyan’s Team has been invaluable in helping us stay up to date with best practices and providing helpful information, as we are new to kiwifruit growing and have a lot to learn, especially with a young family."
Karen & Kelly Shaw
Kiwifruit Growers
"We chose Trevelyan’s because they are a family-owned packhouse. They offer a personal service, with a non-corporate type relationship, that always meets our needs. Our grower representative is a great communicator who really understands our business."
Wendy & Lindsay Marshall
Avocado Growers
"We chose Trevelyan’s for their consistently high pack-out performance, which is carefully monitored and always stacks up against the best. What’s kept us loyal over the years is their family-friendly approach and the genuine value and appreciation they show to their suppliers — we never feel like just a number."
Mark Yortt
Avocado Grower
"Sunchaser Investments chose Trevelyan’s in 2022 for their grower-focused culture, transparent post-harvest services, and integrated Bay Farms marketing. As the Bay of Plenty’s largest avocado producer, efficient logistics, reliability, and clear communication are vital — and Trevelyan’s has consistently exceeded expectations, building a trusted, long-term partnership across all management levels."
Get in touch with

Mike Perrett

As Head of Kiwifruit Grower Services, Mike understands every step of producing top-performing fruit, and is a growers' first point of contact for all our kiwifruit services.