Thanks to its rich vitamin C and nutrient profile, the kiwifruit is widely recognized as one of the world’s healthiest fruits and is known as the “King of Vitamin C”. New Zealand’s Zespri Kiwifruit is a global leader in the kiwifruit market and has been a longtime supporter of promoting healthy lifestyles and a nutritionally balanced diet.

On China’s National Fitness Day in August, China’s Ministry of Health launched its 7th annual China Health Communications Award (CHCA) in Beijing. The CHCA platform promotes healthy lifestyles through communications on public health issues. Ketchum, and its strategic healthcare partner OneHealth, positioned Zespri as the key sponsor and supporter of the CHCA forum for key opinion leaders and media to discuss the need for a balanced diet, focusing on the benefits of daily fruit and vegetable consumption.

The forum was attended by senior representatives from the Ministry of Health’s Department of Disease Control - Chronic Disease Prevention and Control, the Ministry’s Public Information Center, the Nutrition Management Office, the China Health Education Center and the Chinese Nutrition Society along with Zespri, influential nutrition experts from home and overseas and over 30 national and local media.

At the forum nutrition experts shared insights and research data on the significance of fruit and vegetables in a nutritionally balanced diet. The media posed questions during a candid Q&A session with all of the experts and a live Sina microblog channel was set up to broadcast the event and enable netizens to interact directly with the experts. Nearly 200 comments and questions were received through the microblog during the event.

This key opinion leader forum was an opportunity to align Zespri’s corporate values with the Chinese government’s public health objectives through a high-profile, government-endorsed health-knowledge sharing platform. Discussion at the event captured the necessity for increased consumption of fruits and vegetables in the Chinese diet and in conclusion the Ministry of Health announced an official publication summarizing five useful health tips taken from the forum which was fruitfully publicized by the attending media.