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ally popular for their convenience factor.” “Cabo Fresh currently has four different flavors with the new one being Fiesta Guacamole,” says Brown says. “Consumers are loving our new flavor, however, our staples, Authentic Guacamole and Organic Guacamole, are still the brand’s leaders. All our guacamole comes in a 12-ounce tub. We choose 12 ounce because it gives the consumer the option to serve it at a party or, purchase a tub for the week that can be added to a tasty omelet in the morning, to a sand-
wich at lunch or to a simple dinner for flavor.” Brown thinks guacamole has secured its place on the grocery list. “Based on the rate of growth, guacamole is becoming less of an impulse purchase and more of a staple on families’ weekly shopping lists,” she says. “Guacamole single-serves are driving the weekly purchases as single-serve items are consumed throughout the week by both adults
and children as lunch or midday snacks.”
PEAK PROMOTION
While enjoying the year-round sales lift, packaged guacamole makers and sellers
“Based on the rate of growth, guacamole is becoming less of an impulse purchase and more of a staple on families’ weekly shopping lists.”
— Jessica Brown, Cabo Flats
continue to rigorously promote the snack during the important mini sales seasons. In the run-up to the Super Bowl, Food City advertised a buy-one-get-one-free offer for guacamole and salsa. “At least two to four times a year we will do some type of promo- tion based on what holiday is going on,” says Cox. “We’ll probably do it again for Cinco de Mayo.”
During those ad weeks, and especially for the Super Bowl, Cox says, stores will get creative and do secondary displays — filling ice bins with guacamole, for example — “which really drives sales big time,” he says. “We may do cross tie-ins from other grocery
departments. Bring in chips to give the consumer a one-stop shop.”
And we’ll throw it in an ad, maybe in August, just to raise the awareness back to the item again, to say, ‘Hey, don’t forget about me. I know it’s August, but I’m still here,’ ” says Cox.
COMING UP
The guacamole playbook continues to expand, with at least two key players announcing they have new items in the works.
“2018 is the year of innovation for Cabo Fresh,” says Brown. “We have a lot of new products in our pipeline. All the new guaca- mole/avocado concepts stem from the consumer research we did in 2017. The goal is to meet consumers’ needs and make people’s lives easier.”
Something’s cooking at Hope Foods, too, says Burger. “We have some exciting innova- tions in the works further down the pipeline, but no info to share just yet.”
“We’re in a great commodity,” says Calavo Growers’ Araiza, “I don’t see this thing slowing down.”
Watch this space. pb
n MAKE IT YOUR OWN
In this Age of the Avocado, enthusi- asts are evangelistic about their love for guacamole, making it one of the most photographed foods on social media. As of March, Instagram users had posted 7.5
million photos using the hashtag “avocado.” Another 1.5 million were tagged #guacamole.
“As a result of robust marketing
and promotion — and consumer enthusiasm — avocados are having
a ‘moment,’ and we anticipate continued growth for this versatile produce,” says Theresa Lindholm,
brand manager for Litehouse Inc. in Sand- point, ID. “Beyond day-to-day use, we’ve seen holidays and events are key drivers for increased avocado and guacamole demand, as it’s a quick and easy dish that’s also a crowd pleaser. Americans consume up to 81 million avocados on Cinco de Mayo, and eight million pounds of guacamole for the 2016 Super Bowl, according to the California Avocado Commission.”
Litehouse is one of several compa- nies that have created herb and spice blends sold in produce departments to
help shoppers jumpstart home prepara- tion of guacamole. Litehouse’s Guacamole Herb Blend is a mix of seven dried and freeze-dried herbs and spices: cilantro, red
onion, tomato, lemon, cumin, red pepper and garlic. Home cooks add
avocados and fresh lime juice. “Guacamole is quickly becoming one of our more popular items, rising to be within our top 10 items despite being a somewhat seasonal offering,” says Lindholm. “Currently its ACV is 48 (IRI Latest
52 weeks 1/28/18).”
The Boston-based Concord Foods sells
five varieties of dry guacamole mixes under the Fresh Success label, with blends to suit tastes ranging from mild to extra spicy. The product line recently was refor- mulated and is now preservative-free and contains no artificial flavors. “We have several recipes to reflect regional prefer- ences,” says Samantha McCaul, Concord’s marketing manager. “All mixes require the addition of two ripe avocados.”
To optimize sales of the herb blends and mixes, proximity to avocados is crucial.
“We are currently selling in our Lite- house guacamole shipper to retailers, to help drive sales,” says Lindholm. “We recommend they place the shipper next to the avocados in the produce section, as the proximity to avocados helps with consumer consideration. We also increase our sell-in efforts prior to big guacamole moments, such as the Super Bowl and Cinco De Mayo, as sales data and research shows a spike in avocado and guacamole sales during these events and holidays.”
Guacamole’s versatility lends it to “a large variety of cross-merchandising oppor- tunities from avocados and tomatoes to tortilla chips and bread,” says McCaul. Concord’s mixes are popular year-round and a staple for many shoppers, but “an atten- tion-getting display of guacamole mix and avocados will lead to many impulse buys.”
Some of Concord’s loyal customers are Millennial families, according to McCaul. “They enjoy eating guacamole with their children,” she says. “Their kids are growing up with guacamole and enjoy eating as a dip, a topping or as a spread on toast or sandwiches.” pb
46 / APRIL 2018 / PRODUCE BUSINESS