After six years of trial work, fine-tuning orchard management and a few weather setbacks, the Goulburn Valley is home to Australia’s only commercial crop of a new red-blushed nashi.

The Ruby Roo — a crisp, juicy nashi variety with a vibrant pink-red blush — is now stocked nationally in Costco stores and generating growing interest.

The team behind the roll-out is Seeka Australia, with general manager Jonathan Van Popering leading the charge.

He said while the breeding came out of New Zealand, the real work started once the trial varieties hit Australian soil.

“We trialled six red nashis, one showed good promise, great colour, excellent storage life and flavour,” Mr Van Popering said.

“From there, it took six years to get from that first graft to commercial production.”

It’s one thing to find a good-looking variety, and another to scale it.

Getting decent yield per tree, ensuring consistent cropping years, and preserving appearance under heat pressure were all hurdles the team had to clear at the Bunbartha orchard.

“This summer really tested us, we had that long stretch of 40-degree days, and like most red fruits apples, pears, the Ruby Roo lost a lot of colour under direct exposure,” Mr Van Popering said.

“Red pigmentation gets bleached at those temps. It was heartbreaking — fruit that started with a perfect blush turned yellow.

“We need at least 40 per cent red coverage to meet spec.”

Beyond sun exposure, Ruby Roo trees also required careful crop load management.

Being a relatively young orchard, establishing a balanced wood structure and fruiting habit was critical.

“You don’t want boom and bust years — we’ve had to be really intentional about pruning and light penetration, too much shade and colour doesn’t come on, too much sun, and it washes out,” Mr Van Popering said.

Costco committed to taking the entire crop this year after sampling fruit alongside Coles and Woolworths.

“Costco jumped straight in ... we sent samples to all three retailers at the same time, but they moved first. That gave us the confidence to scale up and push forward.”

The fruit’s visual appeal and juicy texture have helped it stand out in the produce aisle — even tricking a few shoppers into thinking it’s an apple, which Seeka doesn’t mind at all.

“If we pull some customers away from apples, that’s a win. It’s crisp like an apple, but much juicier ... it’s something different, and people are responding well to that,” Mr Van Popering said.

Seeka holds the exclusive Australian marketing rights for Ruby Roo.

“It’s a smart way to manage the investment risk — this kind of development isn’t cheap, royalties, grafting, years of upkeep before you harvest a thing. So control over the supply chain gives us a way to recoup that.”

Ruby Roo may not be a high-volume player yet, but it adds another layer to the Goulburn Valley’s reputation as a premier fruit-growing region.

“We’re already the largest growers of kiwifruit and nashi in Australia, and a lot of people don’t realise that,” Mr Van Popering said.

“A new, premium variety like this helps remind people just how much innovation and quality comes from the GV.”

Seeka has grown to become the largest producer of kiwifruit in New Zealand and Australia.

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Saturday, 3rd May 2025

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