Rockit Signs Chinese Superstar Wang Yibo as Brand Ambassador
Healthy snacking company Rockit has announced Wang Yibo, one of China's most influential celebrities, as its new brand ambassador.
Snack-size apple producer Rockit Global Ltd has appointed Grant McBeath as its new chief executive officer.
McBeath starts his role this month and replaces Mark O’Donnell, who in June announced his upcoming retirement.
Rockit chair, John Loughlin says the appointment follows a search that included international candidates for the role.
“The Rockit Board is delighted with the appointment of a proven leader with a strong track record of performance in complex roles, fast moving businesses, country leadership in Asian markets and fast-moving consumer goods,” says Loughlin.
“Grant’s most recent roles were at Spark, and before that with Nokia, Cadbury, Caltex / Chevron Texaco, SC Johnson Wax and Coca-Cola Amatil. He has demonstrated experience delivering sales and services solutions at scale, being key in driving a transformation to agile while delivering strong revenue and profitability growth.”
McBeath is excited to be given an opportunity to lead the Rockit business which operates a complete value chain from orchards, mainly in New Zealand, to consumers around the world.
“There are huge challenges and some aspects of the business that will be new to me. At the same time, I can see that some of my career experiences will equip me well to contribute strongly where the prize is greatest for Rockit.”
“I will be starting in the new role early this month and am looking forward to meeting the Rockit team, growers, customers and suppliers and making a high impact contribution to this fast-moving business. It is great to be able to have a quality transition working with Mark O’Donnell over his final months. It is a privilege to take over what Mark has built, and to take this business to the next level.”
The 2026 Holstein Friesian NZ Black & White Youth Auction has once again proven the strength of support behind the breed’s young people, raising $20,130 for the HFNZ Black & White Youth programme.
Westpac NZ has become the first New Zealand bank to receive approval from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) to secure and leverage kiwifruit growers' Zespri shares.
Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) and Pāmu (Landcorp Farming Limited) have developed a new way for landowners to earn revenue from existing native forests.
Despite near universal optimism in the rural sector, a panel of New Zealand’s leading food and agri minds caution that the sector must be intentional about its future path.
The dairy industry cannot rest on its laurels despite providing one in every four export dollars earned by the country, says DairyNZ chief executive Campbell Parker.
The Government is looking at intervening on behalf of Waikato farmers who face new regulations around agricultural land use while Resource Management Act (RMA) reforms are underway.

OPINION: Central Hawke's Bay farmer Mark Warren recently told the Hawke's Bay Times it's time for a conversation about allowing…
OPINION: A nation that relies as heavily as NZ does on functional global shipping lanes will have to do its…