Heartland Fruit NZ Ltd is based in Nelson, and one of New Zealand’s premium exporters with strong links to retailers globally. The company is owned by Vailima Orchard who are a leading apple growing family that has been producing apples in Nelson for over 100 years. Over 50% of Heartland production is from Vailima orchard and apples are sourced from 9 other independent orchards. The business includes the Vailima Orchards, Compass Packhouse and Coolstores, and the Heartland sales business. Over 75% of Heartland apple sales are in premium varieties sold globally and this includes Ambrosia EverCrisp™, eve™, Pink Lady™ and Smitten™. Heartland first started selling Pink Lady in Asia to Giant Malaysia in 2008 and has been a strong believer in branded apple sales since it first launched eve™ into the NZ market in 2000. In 2024 total apple sales by Heartland exceeded NZ$50 million
Total production by the business: 21,000 tonne.