It was an excellent marketing ploy. The fruit was named "kiwi" in the 1960s in honor of the country's symbol, which intended to launch exports to the rest of the world. The kiwi bird is a flightless bird with plumage in color and texture approximating the skin of the fruit. In New Zealand and Australia, the word "kiwi" has so far referred exclusively to the bird or as a nickname for New Zealanders.
The sale of the fruit with the name "Chinese gooseberry" did not bode well, and the name change influenced the growth of kiwi popularity in foreign markets and the development of its production.
