We had the opportunity to listen to Kavita Devgan speak yesterday at the launch of Kiwi fruits from Chile. The Chileans are tapping into the growing market for Indians whose taste for fruits or anything new that is fruity and fresh is growing by the day.  Kavita was one of the speaker at the launch along with chef Sanjeev Kapoor and Carolina Vasquez, Commercial Director of ProChile in India Charif Christian Carvajal, the Marketing Director for Asia of the Chilean Fruit Exporters Association (ASOEX) among others. She is a celebrity nutritionist and author advising many through her regular columns. One of the most interesting aspect she mentioned about the fruit was that many of us are not aware that you can eat the skin of the fruit after scrubbing it well, "I eat the skin and it is full of health properties," she said listing a lengthy description of the properties the fruit provided she also added that it was a happy fruit and good for skin and digestives.

Chile will be promoting for the first time in India in a strategic manner to catch the growing uban audience who love the exotic fruit. According to World’s Top Exports report 2018, Chile was one of the top five countries in the world with $188 million kiwifruit exports in 2017. India imported 5,309 MT of Chilean kiwifruit 2017-2018.

Chilean Fruit Exporters Association (ASOEX), the Chilean Kiwifruit Committee and the Ministry of Agriculture of Chile, through the Fund for the Promotion of Agroforestry Exports, administered by ProChile will be doing the promotional campaign in India this season. The campaign is also being supported by three leading fresh produce importing companies from India - Aayush Impex, IG International and NGK Trading.

Charif Christian Carvajal, "This is the first time that the Chilean fruit industry will undertake promotional campaign in the India market. This campaign includes the participation and financing of producers and exporters of Chilean kiwifruit that export to this market,and for the first time, the promotional efforts will include economic contributions from the major importers and distributors of kiwifruit in the Indian market."

Over the years, India has emerged as one of the fastest growing markets for Kiwifruit. This is primarily due to the Indian fruit market’s demand for exotic fruits that has seen an upward trend because of a prospering urban class, an enhanced exposure to the cultures of different countries, and a rising demography of health-conscious people. SS Associates, a Gurgaon based food marketing consultancy firm will implement the promotional strategy.