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How Mexico helps feed demand as avocados’ popularity rises

How Mexico helps feed demand as avocados' popularity rises

Demand for avocados continues to rise globally, and Mexico remains at the heart of the industry, delivering the rich, creamy fruit essential for everything from avocado toast, salads and smoothies — to one of the world’s favorite dips, guacamole.

Mexican avocado suppliers leverage innovation, education and strategic partnerships to keep pace with demand, ensuring this green staple is always ripe for the table.

Mexico thrives in the avocado industry thanks to ideal growing conditions and sustainable practices that fuel a year-round supply. As avocados soar in popularity, demand for Mexico’s crop increases, driven by consumer interest in health, flavor and culinary versatility.

With global demand for avocados rising, Mexican suppliers are enhancing production efficiency, engaging consumers and collaborating with retailers to keep this creamy, nutrient-rich fruit at the top of shopping lists worldwide.

Meeting year-round demand

To keep avocados on shelves year-round, Mexican producers are implementing sophisticated scheduling, crop planning and storage solutions.

“According to the Hass Avocado Board, Mexico is the largest origin of avocados in the U.S., representing about 80% of U.S. supply. While Mission Produce sources from two or more origins throughout the year as part of our diversified sourcing strategy, Mexico is a primary origin year-round to support the consistent demand for avocados,” said Brooke Becker, vice president of sales for Mission Produce.

“Mission Produce has a significant grower network throughout the states of Michoacán and Jalisco, so we’re able to procure the highest quality avocados from Mexico year-round,” Becker added. “And with strategically located ripening centers in key markets across the U.S. and on the border, we’re able to move quickly to fill customer orders with avocados from Mexico.”

Stephanie Bazan, senior vice president of commercial strategy and execution for Avocados From Mexico, said Mexican avocados are the only avocados that have four bloom cycles and are available year-round.

Peak season for Mexican hass shipments is from October through April, said Peter Shore, vice president of product management for Calavo Fresh Sales.

Current trends

Consumer appetite for Mexican avocados continues to grow, driven by demand for healthy, versatile ingredients that appeal across global cuisines.

Shore said Calavo continues to see good demand for Mexican avocados with supplies harvested and shipped to the U.S. daily.

“Sizing is trending towards 60/70/84, with promotions available on these sizes,” Shore said.

Robert Schueller, director of public relations for Melissa’s Produce, also noted that there are peak-high times for demand leading up to holidays and major sporting events.

“The largest demand every year seems to be around Super Bowl weekend, Valentine’s Day, Cinco De Mayo, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas to New Year,” he said. “Big game weeks are during the MLB finals, NBA finals, NHL finals and World Cup finals. Also, avocados are always popular on Saturdays and Sundays during college and pro football season.”

Schueller said hass has seen a 12% growth rate at Melissa’s, while organic has seen a 4% growth rate and Sapūrana has seen an 11% growth rate at Melissa’s.

Hass avocados have seen a 12% growth rate at Melissa's Produce, while organic has seen a 4% growth rate and Sapūrana avocados have seen an 11% growth rate at Melissa's, says Robert Schueller, director of public relations for Melissa's Produce. Hass avocados have seen a 12% growth rate at Melissa’s Produce, while organic has seen a 4% growth rate and Sapūrana avocados have seen an 11% growth rate at Melissa’s, says Robert Schueller, director of public relations for Melissa’s Produce. (Photo courtesy of Melissa’s Produce)
“Produce overall is the only category that is showing consistent dollar growth in retail, and avocados are an important part,” said Bazan, who added that the fruit is within the top 10 of the produce ranking and is a traffic driver.

“We know that 70% of all U.S. households buy avocados at least 11 times per year, and they spend close to $46 annually, on average, when they buy avocados,” Bazan said.

Guacamole is the No. 1 core usage category for avocados, but Bazan says the fruit has other key uses.

“First is guacamole. Second are handhelds. We break handhelds into two areas: Mexican handhelds such as tacos, burritos and quesadillas, and American handhelds such as sandwiches, burgers, avocado toast, etc.,” she said.

American handhelds offer a great marketing opportunity for retailers, Bazan said. Placing avocados near the deli can encourage consumers to put avocados on a turkey sandwich, for example.

“In a study, we found that avocados merchandised in the deli area — where you find bread, tortillas, fresh meat — you also see a lift when Avocados From Mexico is branded in that area,” Bazan said.

Pushing avocados outside of produce makes sense, she said.

“We’ve also seen that the same holds true in the meat area, so if you put a branded display in meat, we also see a significant lift in meat as well,” Bazan said. “So, we’re trying to push more programming, not only within produce but around produce.”

Educating consumers

Avocado producers are engaging in consumer education efforts to highlight the diverse uses and health benefits of the nutrient-dense fruit.

Informing consumers is an important part of marketing, Bazan said.

“When we look at educating the consumer, we’re trying to tackle something, a problem. And the problem we need to solve is the barrier we have on purchase,” she said. “When we looked at studies that we have that asked, ‘Why can’t we get more purchases?’ and ‘Why can’t we drive more units per trip?’ we looked for that one barrier and saw it centers around education.”

And that involves two key areas of focus.

“One is around ripening, and the consumer wants to know how to either slow down the ripening of their avocado or speed up the ripening of their avocado,” Bazan said. “The other area is preserving — ‘What do I do when I get that avocado home?’ — because shoppers don’t like waste, and they have this feeling of guilt when they throw out the other half.

“By educating the consumer, we’re trying to give shoppers confidence and the knowledge that they need to manage the fruit so that they will come back and purchase more,” she said.

A goal for Bazan is to see four or five avocados purchased on every single shopping trip.

“Bags have been a great tool to help us get there, but bags only represent about 22% of the overall point of sale,” she said. “So, bulk continues to be king, and it still matters significantly, but the path to getting consumers to buy in bulk is through education.”

Mexican avocados are the only avocados that have four bloom cycles and are available year-round, says Stephanie Bazan, senior vice president of commercial strategy and execution for Avocados From Mexico.
Mexican avocados are the only avocados that have four bloom cycles and are available year-round, says Stephanie Bazan, senior vice president of commercial strategy and execution for Avocados From Mexico. (Photo courtesy of Avocados From Mexico)

Retail collaboration, marketing initiatives

Suppliers work closely with retailers to develop targeted promotions and marketing strategies that drive avocado sales and brand loyalty.

“Bag campaigns have been excellent at driving consumption and consumer purchases of four-, five-, six- and even eight-count bags of avocados,” said Shore of Calavo.

Becker said Mission Produce is working with its partners to take advantage of fall promotion opportunities with strategic merchandising and supply planning with Avocados From Mexico.

“Fall means football, and football means avocado sales. During the first weekend of this year’s football season, 54 million avocados were sold, generating a significant $70.5 million in sales, according to Circana,” she said. “And there’s plenty more ‘avo-ccasions’ coming up, including the Big Game, which is the No. 1 avocado holiday of the year.

Becker said shoppers hit retail for their game-time spreads during the week leading up to the Big Game and the weekend of, so the company begins planning for those promotions in December.

“We collaborate with Avocados From Mexico when appropriate to connect our retailers to their demand-building programs and resources, such as seasonal packaging, point-of-sale materials and coupons,” she said. “This season, Avocados From Mexico is bringing the good times and good taste to any game day celebration with their #AlwaysGood campaign, featuring four-time Big Game champion Rob Gronkowski. We expect to see all the hype around his spicy buffalo ‘Gronkamole.’”

Bazan said the avocado shopper is important for the retailer, and they continue to see growth in that segment.

“We recently conducted a merchandising study that showed that when avocados are displayed in the store — on a display — they drive a 13% increase in unit sales,” she said. “However, when the display is branded Avocados From Mexico, we see almost a doubling in unit sales to 25% — so not only does the category matter, but the brand matters.

“Every time we see the brand at point of sale, it helps drive sales for the retailer,” she added.

Bazan said the company also knows that when merchandising avocados, shoppers will spend 70% more on produce with avocados in the basket.

“So, it’s a win-win for the retailer, especially for the produce section of the store,” she said.

For driving sales, Bazan said homing in on the Big Game is Avocados From Mexico’s flagship program and that partnering, such in this year’s instance with Gronkowski, “will drive a lot of excitement and engagement, not only with the retailer but the consumer as well.”

Schueller agreed added that summer holiday grilling and backyard holidays such as Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day are also important.

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