About KIWI
Founder of KIWI Strategic, Marian Iglesias brings over 30 years blending strategic communication, creativity, and multicultural marketing expertise. Before launching KIWI in 1994, she wrote for The Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald, served as vice president for a multimillion-dollar media company, and tripled Hispanic market sales leading a national division for GE. Her strategic positioning helped launch Zacapa Rum into global prominence and elevate established brands into category leaders.
Marian has consulted for Fortune 500 brands like Marriott, JM Smucker, and Tetley USA, alongside professional services firms, local businesses, and nonprofits across South Florida. Her work has taken her across the United States, Latin America, Europe, and Asia, and she has represented Women for Human Rights at the United Nations.
Together with her son Gabriel, Marian leads KIWI Strategic, offering clients a Strategy-Guided Marketing System with verifiable results, year-round support, and Fractional CMO services. Her role blends mentor, strategist, and trusted advisor, helping businesses move beyond traditional marketing plans toward messaging that drives real growth.
A Miami native, Gabriel Iglesias brings two decades of hands-on experience across technology, professional services, and local businesses. His decade at Apple—culminating as Marketing Coordinator for Global Retail Marketing—built expertise in brand strategy, go-to-market execution, and what drives business growth across products and services. Combined with entrepreneurial ventures and experience spanning Fortune 500 brands to local service companies, Gabriel developed a deep understanding of what makes brands succeed.
As President of KIWI Strategic, Gabriel leads strategy and client engagements, helping professional services firms across South Florida build brands that matter. His approach combines Apple's clarity and empathy-driven culture with deep local market knowledge and a genuine commitment to client success. Gabriel partners with businesses frustrated by marketing that fails to deliver—providing strategic guidance and purposeful communication that resonates with consumers and drives action.
WHAT'S IN A NAME?
Kiwifruit—commonly known simply as "kiwi"—originated in Asia and made its way to New Zealand in the early 20th century. Few people were impressed with its appearance, and its original name, Chinese gooseberry, did not help at all.
One determined New Zealand distributor, frustrated by slow sales and growing inventory, believed that maybe a new name would change the fruit’s ill fated destiny. Inspired by the fruit’s similarity with the kiwibird—the country's national bird, he proposed renaming the Chinese gooseberry, "kiwifruit."
The rest is history. The name shift transformed the weird looking fruit into a star and changed consumer perception almost immediately. Almost instantaneously the kiwifruit went from unfamiliar to exotic, sophisticated, delicious, and desirable. The new identity transformed its image and its future.
KIWI Strategic stands for Knowledge. Insight. Wisdom. Ingenuity—the four pillars we bring to every engagement. It's also a name that resonates deeply with the Chinese gooseberry’s story. Proving that the right strategy, the right positioning, and the right name, can change everything.
The next time you encounter a Chinese gooseberry, remember: the fruit did not change. The story around it shifted, it provided meaning and transformed its future. That's the power of a name. The power of a story. The power of strategy.
Is your brand story powerful enough to shift the future of your business? KIWI Strategic can change that.
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