HAB says retailers sold 27M additional avocados during Q2 holidays

Spring and summer holidays generated higher avocado unit sales compared to 2022, according to the recently released holiday retail recap report from the Hass Avocado Board. Easter, Cinco de Mayo, Memorial Day and Father’s Day contributed a combined 27.5 million incremental avocado units versus the prior year.

Avocado volume during Cinco De Mayo grew by 37% versus the prior year, adding 10.3 million units to the category during the holiday week. The retail recap reported sales volume and retail dollar holiday sales reached 182.7 million units and $194.9 million during the second quarter.

HAB says it produces quarterly reports about national holiday retail sales performance to provide retail sales information for category managers, marketers, retailers and industry leaders as they plan their marketing strategy for the upcoming calendar year. The information below offers a brief snapshot of each holiday’s sales, volume and average sales price information.

Key highlights from the report include:

Easter

• Avocado unit sales during Easter rose to 44.4 million units, increasing 14% versus 2022. Avocado dollar sales decreased 20% to $47.2 million and the average sales price fell 30% to $1.06 per unit during the holiday week.
• The Southeast region drove unit growth, adding 1.1 million units to the category followed by the West region, which also showed the strongest dollar and unit growth at the per-store level.
• Extra-large avocados (PLU 4770) posted a triple-digit growth rate of 103% compared with the prior year’s sales. Large (PLU 4225) avocados also grew 50.4% and bagged avocados grew 8.2% during the holiday week.

Cinco de Mayo

• Total dollar sales declined 17% during the week to $52.1 million. Avocado unit sales rose to 52.2 million units, delivering a 24% increase in unit sales versus the prior year.
• All regions contributed double-digit avocado unit growth during the Cinco de Mayo week. Growth rates ranged from 15% in the Great Lakes to 40% in the Southeast.
• Bagged and organic avocados drove a 2 million-unit growth in retail sales. Additionally, large and extra-large avocado volume more than doubled compared to the year prior.  

Memorial Day

• Unit sales rose to 43.5 million units, up 19% compared with 2022, which resulted in $48.6 million in retail sales. Additionally, average sales price fell 31% to $1.12 per unit.
• On average, retailers saw sales of 1,132 units and $1,265 per store during the week. The West, California and Southeast regions had the highest per-store unit and dollar sales.
• Extra-large avocados grew by 169% during the holiday week contributing 4.4 million units to the category.

Father’s Day

• National avocado unit sales reached 42.6 million units, up 13% from the prior year, while dollar sales decreased 19% when compared with the prior year.
• The south central region showed the greatest volume growth during the holiday week, increasing 33% and adding 5.7 million units.
• Extra-large, large, and bagged avocado units grew by double digits compared to the prior year, adding a combined 6 million units to the category versus 2022, according to HAB.