Mount Maunganui, New Zealand, February 2026 — Zespri International, one of the world’s most successful horticultural marketing companies and New Zealand’s largest horticultural exporter, has announced that Nick Hammond has joined the organisation as its new Chief Strategy Officer.
Sharing the update this week, Zespri highlighted that Hammond brings deep expertise in building premium New Zealand food systems and global brands. Prior to joining Zespri, he served as Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder of Spring Sheep Milk Co. New Zealand, where he played a defining role in helping establish New Zealand’s modern sheep-milking industry.
Nick Hammond is passionate about taking high-quality natural food to the world, while delivering stronger value back to growers through innovation, compelling market positioning, and strong execution.
Before joining Zespri International as Chief Strategy Officer, Nick Hammond spent nearly a decade building and scaling Spring Sheep Milk Co. New Zealand, an award-winning advanced nutrition business specializing in premium infant formula and nutrition products made from grass-fed New Zealand sheep milk. Over close to five years as Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder, he helped establish Spring Sheep as a leading brand in the category, supporting the expansion of New Zealand’s modern sheep-milking industry and strengthening global market presence.
Prior to that, Hammond served for over six years as Chief Operating Officer & Co-Founder at Spring Sheep Milk Co. New Zealand, based in Auckland, contributing to operational scale-up and the growth of a unique premium food system. Spring Sheep is recognized as the largest sheep milking group in the Southern Hemisphere, sourcing milk from its own group of farmers using the exclusive Zealandia dairy sheep breed.
Earlier in his career, Hammond worked with SLC Group Limited for nearly two years as a Strategic Projects Manager in Auckland, supporting food & beverage and agribusiness-focused investment and strategic growth initiatives.
He also built strong foundations in professional services with PwC, where he served for over three years as a Senior Associate, working as part of the Private Client Services team with exposure to financial analysis, consulting, tax, structuring and diverse business sectors, particularly supermarkets, food producers and manufacturers.
Nick began his early career with Gallagher Group, serving across several roles including Business Analyst – R&D Team and Marketing Assistant, strengthening his grounding in analytical and business support functions.
About Zespri International
Zespri is one of the world’s most successful horticultural marketing companies and New Zealand’s largest horticultural exporter, exporting kiwifruit to more than 50 countries and managing around 30% of global volume. Zespri is 100% owned by current and former kiwifruit growers, working with 2,800 growers in New Zealand and 1,500 growers offshore to serve consumers with Zespri Green, RubyRed and SunGold kiwifruit.
With a global team of around 900 across Mount Maunganui and international markets in Asia, Europe and the Americas, Zespri’s purpose is to help people, communities and the environment thrive through the goodness of kiwifruit. In 2024/25, Zespri supplied 220.9 million trays across more than 50 markets and recorded global operating revenue of NZ$5.14 billion.
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