Apr 23 2008

Nearly 54 Million Pounds of Avocados to be Consumed During the Holiday

Irvine, Calif. (April 23, 2008) – Kicking off the prime California avocado season with a bang, the California Avocado Commission (CAC) is supplementing its recently announced advertising campaign with promotional activities in support of Cinco de Mayo, the May 5 celebration in which guacamole and other avocado dishes are as ubiquitous as turkey is for Thanksgiving. CAC’s promotion plans include public relations outreach featuring celebrity chefs, an extensive on-line campaign and strong in-store merchandising support.

“Cinco de Mayo is the second biggest avocado consumption occasion of the year, with nearly 54 million pounds of avocados expected to be consumed during the festive period,” said CAC vice president of marketing, Jan DeLyser. “We’ve augmented our ground-breaking California Avocado Growers advertising campaign with Cinco de Mayo-focused promotions to encourage continued growth of consumer demand for fresh California avocados.”

To help inspire Cinco de Mayo party hosts, California celebrity chefs and restaurateurs Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger have teamed up with CAC to create delicious avocado recipes that celebrate the holiday with Latin flair, while highlighting the California avocado’s unique flavor. 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.

Through intensive outreach to broadcast television, radio, syndicated food columnists and food editors, CAC’s public relations team is helping to bring Milliken and Feniger’s California avocado recipe ideas to millions of consumers across the country.

Online activity is another key component of CAC’s Cinco de Mayo campaign. From April 18 through May 6, CaliforniaAvocado.com will feature a Micro site titled “Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with California Avocados.” The Micro site will include California avocado recipes and party tips, along with an opportunity for consumers to share their own guacamole recipe. Banner advertising on the popular Web site allrecipes.com will garner more than 450,000 impressions and encourage consumers to visit CAC’s Micro site. In addition, CAC will distribute more than 60,000 Cinco de Mayo-themed recipe e-mails to California avocado recipe fans.

“Key retailers who have not already done so are using the week before Cinco de Mayo as their ‘line in the sand’ for transitioning to California avocados,” said Bradley Miles who grows avocados in Carpinteria, Calif. with his wife Emily, a fourth-generation California avocado grower. “April’s warm weather has brought on the size of the fruit, as well as increased consumer demand.”

In support of this transition, CAC’s merchandising team has developed new point-of-sale materials to help retailers identify the California avocado displays for their customers. In addition to California Avocado Grower-themed header cards and channel strips, CAC has created a new high graphic display bin that will identify the fruit as Hand Grown in California.

“This new display bin has been very well received,” said DeLyser. “Retailers who set up the bins in time for Cinco de Mayo will have the advantage of creating a strong avocado section for this high-consumption holiday and will have an excellent display vehicle throughout the California avocado season.”


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.