Mar 17 2010

More than 168 Million Avocados to be Consumed During Celebrations
 
Irvine, Calif. (March 11, 2010) – Cinco de Mayo is taking on a California flair due to the efforts of the California Avocado Commission (CAC). With the California avocado season in full swing, the Commission has created a marketing support plan designed to encourage avocado consumption around the May 5 celebration and beyond.

“Eighty-four million pounds of avocados are expected to be consumed around Cinco de Mayo, with outstanding quality fruit from California in abundance this year,” said Jan DeLyser, CAC vice president of marketing. “To build consumer demand we’ve put together a strong, integrated marketing program that combines the California avocado grower advertising campaign with Cinco de Mayo-focused public relations, online activities, a recipe contest, social media and trade support, all with a California twist.”

California celebrity chefs and restaurateurs Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger, known as the Too Hot Tamales, are again working with CAC to serve as the Cinco de Mayo spokespeople. The chefs developed two new California avocado-centric recipes that will be promoted to media nationwide and placed on CAC’s Web site. Milliken and Feniger also will participate in media interviews and be featured in a radio news release. The chefs will discuss the popularity of California avocados for Cinco de Mayo entertaining, and also offer key avocado nutrition facts to encourage consumers’ use of avocados as part of a healthful diet. Milliken and Feniger are owners of the critically acclaimed Border Grill restaurants in Santa Monica, Calif., and Las Vegas, Nev., as well as Ciudad in downtown Los Angeles; Feniger also opened Street restaurant in Los Angeles in 2009.

The Commission will develop Cinco de Mayo content on CaliforniaAvocado.com showcasing recipes and California-style Cinco de Mayo entertaining ideas. The online promotion will include a California guacamole recipe contest. In addition, CAC will promote Cinco de Mayo consumption of California avocados to nearly 60,000 consumers via its recipe e-mail newsletter.

Social media will play a larger role in encouraging avocado consumption this year. In addition to posts on the California Avocado Commission’s Facebook® and Twitter® social media profiles, CAC is posting usage ideas and recipe demonstration videos on YouTube®. The Too Hot Tamales kicked off the start of California’s avocado season with videos demonstrating how to make recipes such as California Avocado Piquillo Pepper Frittata, which can be viewed at www.youtube.com/CaliforniaAvocados. They also will host an interactive cooking event for key food bloggers at one of their restaurants. The event will allow the bloggers to personally taste some of the Too Hot Tamales’ favorite Cinco de Mayo dishes that feature California avocados and then immediately share their experience with their readers online.

“Cinco de Mayo started as a commemoration of an historical event in Mexico, evolved into a fiesta on both sides of the border and now is probably celebrated more in the Unites States,” said DeLyser. “It provides a good reason to dine out or entertain at home, which means it is an excellent opportunity for both foodservice and retail to drive traffic and capture more avocado sales.”

Retail point-of-purchase materials supporting California avocados’ Cinco de Mayo efforts, including popular California avocado display bins with header cards promoting the celebration, are available to order at www.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 6,000 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.