THE PACKER | by Vicky Boyd

Coming off of a strong 2013-14 season, Avocados from Chile is putting the final touches on a refreshed look to its brand, website, point-of-sale materials and communication pieces for the 2014-15 season.

The materials, which strengthen relationships with retailers — whether buyers, marketing/social media professionals or retail dietitians — will be ready in time for the fall and a big consumer push, said Karen Brux, director of the San Carlos, Calif.-based Chilean Avocado Importers Association and managing director of the Chilean Fresh Fruit Association.

Chilean avocado importers don’t have the volume to supply all U.S. retailers, so they work primarily with key nationwide chains as well as selected regional chains mostly on the West Coast.

“These are all retailers who recognize the consistently premium taste and appearance of Chilean avocados,” she said.

“Our job is to continue to deliver that, and work hand in hand with them from the start of our season to the end.”

That means continuing to educate retailers on easy use ideas and nutrition benefits.

“We’re developing all new point-of-sale material that will communicate these messages in a bold and striking manner,” Brux said.

“The health- and nutrition-focused research done by the Hass Avocado Board is a key marketing tool for Avocados from Chile. We incorporate health messages into elements of our marketing campaign, like point-of-sale and social media outreach, and also summarize key findings for our retail partners who are looking for meaningful information to pass on to their consumers.”

Avocados from Chile also will continue some of the successful marketing elements launched during the 2013-14 season, such as the reusable plastic container wrap.

“The Chilean Avocado Importers Association was the first avocado association to introduce RPC wraps into Wal-Mart, and other organizations have since followed,” she said.

“They’re easy to use — you simply wrap them around RPCs and fasten with Velcro. They’re made of an easy-to-clean and durable vinyl material. And the four-color printing quality is great. They offer substantial real estate to communicate key messages to our consumers.”

In addition to developing customized programs for specific retailers, Avocados from Chile will have an updated version of its “scratch and win” promotion that it has offered the past few years.

Participating produce managers who submit a qualified Chilean avocado display photo automatically win cash prizes.

“It’s been a really effective tool in incentivizing produce managers to build big, beautiful displays of Avocados from Chile,” she said.

Holidays

The Super Bowl, one of the largest holidays for avocado sales regardless of origin, will continue to be a focus of Avocados from Chile.

During the 2014 Super Bowl, Americans consumed more than 100 million pounds of the fruit, up from 79 million pounds during the 2013 Super Bowl.

“Retailers love to promote during this period, so we work with them to design customized promotions,” Brux said.

“This can be anything from display contests, in-store demos or sales contests. Whatever it takes to generate high impact displays of Avocados from Chile and drive increased purchases.”

Super Bowl promotions are just one of the many holidays the group will target. Among the others are Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year, St. Patrick’s Day and American Heart Month (February).

To help deliver these messages, Avocados from Chile will strengthen its social media offerings and will run geographically targeted campaigns.

“A well-designed website is also crucial for delivering information to our key constituents — retailers, consumers and media — in an easy-to-navigate, enticing way,” Brux said.

“With 25% of Internet users only accessing the Internet on a mobile device, a mobile-responsive website has rapidly become the new norm for some of the best sites, and Avocados from Chile will be heading down this path.”

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