Actinidia deliciosa Zealand, around 1924. This is the most widely grown cultivar in the world. Chinese gooseberry was initially grown in domestic gardens, but commercial planting began in the 1940s. In 1959, Turners and Growers named it kiwifruit, after New Zealand's national bird, the kiwi—brown and furry. , Italy was the leading producer of kiwifruit in the world, followed by New Zealand, Chile, France, Greece, Japan, and the United States. Kiwifruit is still produced in China, but China has never made it to the top 10 list of kiwifruit-producing countries. In China, it is grown mainly in the mountainous area upstream of
Frieda's Inc. which were a specialty item in those days. After the success of selling mushrooms, Caplan opened her own company in 1962 with mushrooms as the primary item. She started with a small stand at the Los Angeles wholesale produce market. Once titled the “Queen of Kiwi,” Caplan gained international recognition from bringing the Kiwifruit to the United States. This fruit was discovered in New Zealand and originally known as "Chinese gooseberries". Caplan renamed this fruit after the country's flightless bird, the Kiwi. She convinced California growers to plant the fruit and soon California had more than 700 Kiwifruit growers. Caplan's