California’s organic avocado outlook
From
| 10 May 2023
Overview of organic avocados from California in the U.S. market, complemented by charts from Agronometrics. Original published on May 10, 2023.
With backyard barbecue season upon us, selective Hass avocado shoppers look to grocers to provide choices in the expanding organics category. The trend line toward growth in organic avocado sales has been clear for years, particularly for shoppers looking for California avocados both as a healthy and sustainable option, according to Nic Vallejo, sales and business development at Index Fresh.
“At Index Fresh, as a grower-owned avocado marketer, we are highly adaptive to industry growth toward organics. We’ve found that organic California fruit is really attractive to quality-conscious shoppers. It’s no longer a secondary category at many grocers. Organics are getting prime grocery store real estate,” Vallejo said.
Index Fresh, a provider of high-quality avocados throughout the year, has premium California organics ready to promote for the season, giving retailers and consumers the choice of going organic. California’s ample 2023 rains paused the early-season avocado harvest, allowing the fruit time to mature while drinking deeply on rainwater. Even after the California season wraps up this fall, Index Fresh keeps the organic category supplied throughout the year as consumer education about the benefits of organics continues to expand demand.
According to projections for the season, California growers will harvest nearly 22 million pounds of organic Hass avocados in 2023, making up 9 percent of 243 million pounds of California Hass avocados. This premium offering is packed in its Index Fresh brand when packing California organic avocados. Outside of the California season, Index Fresh markets imported organic fruit under the AvoTerra label, extending the availability and guaranteeing consistency for retailers.
Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics.
(Agronometrics users can view this chart with live updates here)
“Our team identifies strategies for both new and current retail customers to maximize the organic category, because more and more avocado consumers are looking for that premium fruit experience,” Vallejo said. “Customer satisfaction drives repeat sales and continued growth.”
For grocers, Index Fresh provides both bagged and bulk organic fruit tailored to each retailer’s needs. Customers have gravitated toward the purple netted bags with high-impact graphics, which creates an eye-catching display associated with premium avocados.
For California avocado growers, Index Fresh’s field safety coordinators provide education on how to navigate the U.S. Department of Agriculture organic certification process and diversify their orchards. The key has been supplying both conventional and organic categories while never skimping quality. When growers elect to go organic, Index Fresh provides hands-on support and a toolkit for success.
“We work with our retail customers at the true partner level, to make sure our clients and their shoppers get what they’re looking for, because at the end of the day consumers want a delicious reliable piece of fruit,” Vallejo said. “We double on product quality and provide real-time market information always striving to ensure our clients are up to speed on product availability and market trends.”
The News in Charts is a collection of stories from the industry complemented by charts from Agronometrics to help better tell their story.
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