Zespri SunGold Kiwifruit has won two awards at the NZ Innovation Awards.
Zespri took out Sustained Innovation Excellence and Export Innovator of the Year in Auckland last night.
Bryan Parkes, Zespri operations manager, said Zespri SunGold Kiwifruit had been a fantastic commercial success.
"SunGold was developed in the Zespri-Plant & Food Research new cultivar breeding programme with the support of the NZ government and it's been a real game-changer for the industry."
It had a high yield on-orchard, tolerated Psa, handles and stored well through the supply chain and its sweet, juicy taste and high levels of vitamin C made it a hit in the markets, he said.
The success of SunGold was critical to Zespri achieving its goal of more than doubling sales revenue to $4.5 billion by 2025.
SunGold had created around 6,800 jobs so far and was on track to account for a total of at least 14,000 extra jobs by 2025.