Hawkes Bay Today
  • Hawke's Bay Today home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Havelock North
  • Central Hawke's Bay
  • Tararua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Gisborne

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Hawkes Bay Today

Global domination predicted for Rockit

By Patrick O'Sullivan
Business editor·Hawkes Bay Today·
3 Jul, 2017 07:00 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Rockit Global chairman John Loughlin predicts Rockit apples will be as ubiquitous as gold kiwifruit.

Rockit Global chairman John Loughlin predicts Rockit apples will be as ubiquitous as gold kiwifruit.

Rockit apples could become a staple snack worldwide, says Rockit Global chairman John Loughlin.

The company was named ExportNZ Hawke's Bay's ASB Exporter of the Year last week, also winning won the Napier Port Industry Trail Blazer Award.

"We have a little apple with huge sweet taste that stores and never fails to impress people as a snack experience and a great fruit experience," he said.

He said New Zealand was responsible for what was probably the greatest modern innovation in fruit, the gold Kiwifruit.

"Our ambition is to put Rockit apples right up there with them."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

He gave tribute to the vision and drive of founder Phil Alison to establish the product and the contribution of angel investors and the Rockit team in Havelock North. The investors contributed "enormously" with strategy, marketing, growing and the intellectual property aspects of the business.

"We have had a great team of people that have been through a lot and contributed enormously from orchard to pack house to market.

International partners were also growing the apple variety which Rockit Global wished to market on their behalf.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"We are not finished yet. This has the potential to be something really special and it is fantastic to be recognised so early in our journey."

Few in Hawke's Bay have a track record such as Mr Loughlin, giving weight to his prediction that Rockit is a global game changer. Food industry companies dominate his extensive governorship record. Chairmanships include Zespri Group, EastPack, Firstlight Foods, Allied Farmers and Hawke's Bay Winegrowers.

Directorships include Napier Port, AgResearch, New Zealand Meat Producers Board and NZ Lamb Company (North America).

In his executive career he was Richmond's chief executive for five years, leaving in 2002 before it was taken over by Dunedin-based PPCS (now Silver Fern Farms).
With wife Kathryn, he established Askerne Estate Winery.

Pockit apples are slightly bigger than a golf ball, sweet flavoured with a strong red colour and marketed in plastic tubes. The variety is a product of Plant & Food's Havelock North-based cross-breeding programme, started by the late Dr Don Mackenzie and developed further by Allan White.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Business

Premium
Hawkes Bay Today

'Bringing the community together': Young new owner's plans for Hastings cinema

Hawkes Bay Today

Regional airline grounded for 10 days by Civil Aviation Authority

Hawkes Bay Today

New Four Square and shops planned for Taradale town centre


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Business

Premium
Premium
'Bringing the community together': Young new owner's plans for Hastings cinema
Hawkes Bay Today

'Bringing the community together': Young new owner's plans for Hastings cinema

'I believe if there’s fair prices, people would love to come back to the movies.'

14 Jul 04:29 AM
Regional airline grounded for 10 days by Civil Aviation Authority
Hawkes Bay Today

Regional airline grounded for 10 days by Civil Aviation Authority

14 Jul 03:12 AM
New Four Square and shops planned for Taradale town centre
Hawkes Bay Today

New Four Square and shops planned for Taradale town centre

12 Jul 06:00 PM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Hawke's Bay Today e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Hawke's Bay Today
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP