Avocados From Mexico sets path for continued consumption growth, brand strength

Avocados From Mexico can see wonderful accomplishments in the rearview mirror, but President and CEO Alvaro Luque believes the future will be even more spectacular.

Luque said Mexico has supplied more than 2 billion pounds of fruit per year to the U.S. in the last three years with consistent, reliable supply.

“We’ve seen sustained growth as we have driven demand and expanded the market and believe we can continue to grow,” he said. “Mexico is the only place in the world that can meet U.S. demand, and we’ve made the U.S. the No. 1 country in avocado consumption in the world.’

AFM is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, and Mexico has increased its avocado footprint in the U.S. over that span.

“In the past decade, we have more than doubled the volume of U.S. avocado imports — from 1.13 billion pounds to 2.48 billion pounds, expanding the U.S. avocado market and generating an economic output of $11 billion,” Luque said. “This success can be attributed to our strategic marketing campaigns, creative shopper promotions/partnerships and seasonal programs. We’ve tripled brand preference to become the preferred brand of avocados in the U.S — it’s a huge accomplishment.”

Luque said one of the group’s long-term goals is to make the U.S. the top country for per capita avocado consumption.

“Our other long-term goal is to become the most innovative produce brand in the world,” he said. “I’m optimistic about the future of produce, and there are more exciting and innovative years ahead.”

Related: USDA stats show extent of Mexico's dominance in U.S. avocado volume, value

Record-breaker

Fiscal year 2023 (July 1, 2022, through June 30 this year) was a historic, record-breaking year for AFM, as Mexican exporters shipped nearly 2.5 billion pounds of fruit to the U.S.

Part of that success, Luque said, was due to:

• A record-setting Cinco de Mayo promotion period; volume was up 61% from 2022 and up 18% from the year prior to that.
• More than 280,000 displays were sold into retailers via AFM's shopper marketing programs, including the Big Game and Cinco de Mayo, and thousands of branded bags sold highlighted the AFM brand as well as key education and health and wellness information.
• A record number (37) of limited-time offers executed in partnership with foodservice operators to highlight fresh avocados on menus.
• A new record for Big Game impressions, driven by impactful communications that drove awareness during that key time period.
   

Time to shine

For the upcoming season, Luque said AFM is focused on several efforts.

During National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, AFM announced the group was continuing its three-year partnership with Susan G. Komen to help fund the fight against breast cancer. This included pink packaging in-store, he said.

In early November, AFM spotlighted its latest partnership with the Cure Bowl as the title sponsor of the college football bowl game, which is another first for AFM.

“The 2023 Avocados From Mexico Cure Bowl brings together the good health and good times that are at the core of our brand, strengthening our footprint in college football while enabling us to deepen our connection with our female audience and breast cancer awareness,” Luque said. “This bowl game has helped raise millions of dollars for cancer research, including breast cancer, one of the most important health issues for women in the U.S., which affects one in eight women.”

AFM has also continued to build the connection between its brand and football. This fall, AFM became the first produce brand to partner with the College Football Playoff as the official avocado of the event.

“An estimated 130 million Americans are interested in homegating (tailgating at home), and the CFP National Championship viewership has grown 18% year over year,” Luque said. “We saw a great opportunity with this partnership to reach those shoppers in-store as they’re shopping for game day while continuing to build equity and visibility for our brand in football events.”

In October, AFM announced its 360 national shopper marketing campaign to help retailers get ready for the Big Game in 2024.

“We partnered with football, food and reality TV star and the ultimate host, Jesse Palmer, to encourage shoppers to host a Better Bowl — a game-day viewing party made better with guacamole made with Avocados From Mexico,” Luque said.

As part of the promotion, AFM is offering shoppers prizes, recipes and hosting tips from Jesse Palmer.

“We are focusing on strategic merchandising and working to build a presence in stores beyond the produce section,” Luque said. “One of these efforts involves displaying products in the perimeter. We developed a fresh endcap display featuring avocados to reinvent the traditional CPG endcap. So far, we’ve seen almost triple-digit sales increase in avocados in select retailers implementing this display.”

In terms of foodservice promotions, Luque said AFM has seen a 20% growth in foodservice market share and menu penetration over the last 10 years, and this continues to be one of the group’s strategic priorities.

“We know that 77% of consumers prefer fresh avocados, so we’re here to partner with foodservice operators to help them feature more fresh avocados on their menus,” he said.

“We partner with many operators to implement the Avocados From Mexico Fresh Seal on their menus," he added. "Displaying the Fresh Seal lets patrons know that the operator is serving fresh Avocados From Mexico.”

Examples of other recent promotions include:

• An “AvoLution” campaign with Qdoba leveraging influencers to call out the health and wellness benefits of avocados and generate awareness of Qdoba’s usage of fresh Avocados From Mexico.
• A LTO partnership with Baja Fresh, featuring fresh avocados on limited-time menu items like tacos.
• A campaign with McAlister’s Deli promoting fresh avocados as the perfect topping for spuds, sandwiches and salads.
• AFM has made avocados a culinary experience and continues to expand its AvoEats fresh avocado concessions, including a new partnership with the LA Galaxy.

This fall AFM launched its AvoLab — a culinary innovation center at its headquarters where culinary professionals can create, innovate and develop real-world menu items inspired by and featuring avocados, he said.

The AvoLab includes The Cocina — where AFM will conduct innovation sessions with operators and host in-person Avocado University sessions — and chef stations that allow chefs to demo recipes and share educational techniques.

The path ahead

In its 10 years, AFM has reinvented the way that produce is marketed in the U.S. and built a visible brand in a brandless category, Luque said.

“Avocados From Mexico is always good — we bring good taste, we are good for you, and we bring the good times,” he said. “We developed a strategic framework to build the brand and grow demand in the U.S. and will continue to use this framework to guide our long-term strategy. Now, consumers are buying more avocados, more often — we’ve helped introduce avocados to more than 6.2 million new households in the last decade and have also seen an increase in purchase frequency. We see an important opportunity to keep growing these numbers and that will be a priority in the next few years.”

Looking down the road, AFM will continue to deliver the innovative marketing the group is known for, with a big focus on avocado education and health and wellness, Luque said, with a focus on the nutritional benefits of avocados.