As Head of Marketing for APAC at Zespri, Kanako Inomata transformed marketing from a trade-led function into a consumer-driven growth engine across eight diverse markets. She reframed Zespri’s role from selling fruit to addressing nutritional imbalance, positioning the brand as a leader in natural nutrition. Her leadership introduced unified regional platforms, including the Jam-Packed nutrition strategy across APAC and Japan’s Nutrition Reform Project, tackling the reality that 1 in 3 adults are nutritionally imbalanced.

Through initiatives such as Bento Box 2.0, Kanako demonstrated how creativity can drive real behaviour change by upgrading everyday habits rather than promoting products. Her work delivered record sales growth, stronger brand premium and industry recognition, including the Grand Prix at Spikes Asia 2026 for Creative Strategy, while redefining marketing as a force for both business growth and societal wellbeing.