Marketing California Avocados

Early season digital ad activations are an essential part of the California Avocado Commission’s efforts to motivate retailers to engage with the California avocado industry and ensure the flow of fruit prior to the Cinco de Mayo holiday. This season the Commission is partnering with Walmart and Sam’s Club on a digital ad program designed to deliver 18 million highly targeted ads to the desktops and mobile devices of shoppers most likely to purchase California avocados.

To encourage purchases of in-season California avocados, the California Avocado Commission runs consumer advertising on a variety of platforms that are designed to create demand for the Premium Californian audience with new recipes and ways to use the fruit. Beginning in March, the Commission launched ad campaigns aimed at building brand awareness in key markets located in Arizona, California, Colorado, Oregon, Nevada, Utah and Washington.

The California Avocado Commission has built solid relationships with targeted retail partners by serving as a trusted resource for avocado information and customized marketing programs. Complementing the retailer’s initiatives, CAC’s retail marketing team provides programs to communicate California avocado-specific messaging and branding.

From April 16 – 18, the California Avocado Commission joined female leaders from across the globe at the International Fresh Produce Association 2023 Women’s Fresh Perspectives Conference hosted in Orlando, Florida.

Since 2020 Wahoo’s Fish Tacos, a California-based chain headquartered in Tustin, has leveraged the California Avocados brand logo to showcase their use of locally-grown produce in season. This year the chain transitioned to California avocados in early spring and ran a six-week promotion featuring the fresh fruit.

The California Avocado Commission’s Brand Advocate program leverages trusted and well-known influencers to drive awareness of the California avocado season. The partners are chosen because of their compelling and exciting storytelling abilities, excellent photography skills, significant followings and love for the Golden State fruit. 

The Cinco de Mayo holiday, which has long been associated with avocados and guacamole, provides the California Avocado Commission with an impactful means of building demand for California avocados by securing timely distribution of the fruit with targeted retailers. Learn more about CAC's partnerships with retailers for the holiday.

To drive awareness and excitement for the California avocado season, the California Avocado Commission conducted consumer public relations outreach in early April, including the distribution of a press release and a mat release, which is a short feature story designed to read like a newspaper article, making it easy for publications to pick up and run as is.

The California Avocado Commission’s foodservice team attended the invitation-only FoodOvation event in Sun Valley, Idaho, where R&D/product innovation, corporate and executive chefs, purchasing/supply chain and marketing personnel from restaurant chains across the nation gathered — offering CAC the opportunity to expand its target base of chain and high-volume independent contacts.

Loyal chain partner Erik’s DeliCafé transitioned to California avocados in early spring to promote the use of local produce to their customers; a move they have been committed to for the past three years. Throughout the promotions, the chain will feature fresh California avocados in menu items and the California Avocados brand logo on its digital channels.