This fruits history began in the Chang Kiang Valley of China. Called “Yang Tao” by the Chinese, it was considered a delicacy by the great Khans who relished the fruit’s brilliant flavor and emerald green color. Knowledge of the fruit (known outside China as the “Chinese Gooseberry”) expanded to other countries in the mid 1800’s to 1900’s.

The first experimental gooseberry plants were first exported to New Zealand and the U.S. in 1904. In 1960, an experimental commercial vineyard (consisting of 12 gooseberry vines) was planted in California. At this time, New Zealand was already exporting gooseberries to specialized markets and in 1962 a customer asked a produce manager at her local Safeway supermarket for Chinese Gooseberries. Never having heard of the fruit, the manager contacted produce dealer, Frieda Caplan. Although unfamiliar with the exotic fruit at that time, Caplan was introduced to the gooseberry and she began importing New Zealand gooseberries until California started producing its own fruit. During this time period, the fruit was renamed "kiwifruit" due to its similar appearance to the national bird of New Zealand, the kiwi bird which is a brown, fuzzy, funny-looking, round bird. The pioneers of commercial production of kiwifruit in California were Judd Ingram in the Delano area (planted 1967) and George Tanimoto in the Gridley area (planted 1968).

It didn’t take long for California farmers to recognize the potential popularity of kiwifruit. Between 1981 and 1986 kiwifruit production in California rose 667 percent. National produce associations and trade magazines began to recognize the growing popularity of kiwifruit proclaiming it the “fresh fruit item most often tried for the first time” and the “hot produce item of the year.”

By this time, the exceptional nutritional value of kiwifruit was also becoming widely recognized. Nutritional studies revealed that kiwifruit is the most “nutrient dense” of all major fruits. Kiwifruit was found to contain more vitamin C than an orange and more potassium than a banana. It was also discovered to have ample amounts of folate, copper, fiber, vitamin E and lutein. In fact, the health benefits of kiwifruit were so overwhelming that in 1992, the Center for Science in the Public Interest ranked kiwifruit among the top 10 most nutritious fruits.

In 1992, worldwide kiwifruit production reached record levels. But, despite production increases, California was still a small player. While California produced its 13 million trays, New Zealand produced 75 million, Chile grew 30 million and Italy, the biggest producer, generated a whopping 98 million trays of kiwifruit.

California produces around 98% of the kiwifruit grown in the US. Kiwifruit has remained a relatively small agricultural industry in California made up of less than 300 growers who farm around 13 acres each.

Due to California kiwifruit’s fall harvest, fresh kiwifruit is available to consumer during the winter months, an uncommon time for the “homegrown” fresh fruits. California’s kiwifruit season runs from October through April. The southern hemisphere kiwifruit, New Zealand and Chile, has an opposite season so the combination of the two harvesting seasons allows consumers to enjoy fresh kiwifruit all year.