Mar 23 2011

U.S. consumption forecast exceeds 70 million pounds of avocados for the festivities

IRVINE, Calif. (March 23, 2011) – The California Avocado Commission (CAC) plans to support this year’s crop with an integrated marketing campaign scheduled to kick off with a robust Cinco de Mayo program. Cinco de Mayo consistently ranks at the top of avocado consumption events throughout the year.

The California avocado projections forecast a lighter crop compared with last year, which was the fourth largest crop on record. California avocados will provide a concentrated window of opportunity, expected to kick into gear for Cinco de Mayo, and then continue with consistent high quality into August.

“CAC’s marketing campaign is developed with the benefit of research indicating that 69 percent of U.S. consumers think it is important the avocados they buy are grown in the United States,” said Jan DeLyser, vice president of marketing for the Commission. “Our marketing program communicates the reliable taste, quality and freshness that come from California avocado growers.”

The Commission’s 2011 campaign will launch in support of Cinco de Mayo promotions. CAC has been building Cinco de Mayo avocado demand for decades, helping to make it one of the strongest consumption festivities for the category. This year CAC will combine broad-reaching public relations activities with online marketing to help support the estimated 70.5 million pounds of avocados forecasted for Cinco de Mayo.

With almost a quarter of consumers now visiting food companies’ websites to find out product information, the Commission will put significant attention to online support and mobile marketing. Cinco de Mayo is CAC’s season kick-off event, featuring an online microsite, a page on its new mobile website, and social media outreach to more than 51,000 Facebook fans.

Throughout the California avocado season national print ads in epicurean and lifestyle magazines as well as online advertising will be complemented by regional outdoor and in-store media. The ads emphasize California branding and continue to use the Hand Grown in California thematic. Several themed consumer promotions will help carry California avocado messages to shoppers, as will public relations activities with CAC’s artisan chef program and avocado nutrition outreach.

"As part of CAC’s artisan chef program that features chefs as sources of California avocado information and usage ideas, chef Ivy Stark, executive chef of Dos Caminos restaurant in New York, will serve as CAC’s spokesperson for Cinco de Mayo,” said DeLyser.

Stark, who is considered one of New York’s leading chefs, has created new California avocado-centric recipes that she will promote at media appearances leading up to and on Cinco de Mayo. The chef’s California Avocado Milanesa Torta Sliders put a California twist on a south-of-the-border classic, and her produce-packed California Avocado and Shrimp Enchiladas make a perfect entrée for the celebration or any time. A radio news release also is planned to promote avocado consumption for the event and encourage consumers to visit CaliforniaAvocado.com.

To support CAC promotions, California avocado point-of-sale materials, including Cinco de Mayo signage and a newly-designed display bin, are available for retailers/wholesalers and can be ordered at CaliforniaAvocado.com/retailers-pos-order-form.

About the California Avocado Commission

Created in 1978, the California Avocado Commission strives to increase demand for California avocados through advertising, promotion and public relations, and engages in related industry activities that benefit the state’s nearly 5,000 avocado growers. The California Avocado Commission serves as the official information source for California avocados and the California avocado industry. For information about California Avocados, visit CaliforniaAvocado.com, become a fan at Facebook.com/CaliforniaAvocados and follow the California Avocado Commission on Twitter at Twitter.com/CA_Avocados.