Big Game Retail Promotions Build Demand in Advance of Peak Season

With California avocados harvested and headed to market earlier than usual in January 2022 and this year’s Big Game taking place later than usual, some of the California Avocado Commission’s most loyal retail partners launched promotions from the end of January to mid-February designed to move the early season fruit prior to and during one of the nation’s most popular sporting events. The Big Game promotions helped secure distribution of the higher volume of early season fruit while building demand leading into peak season.

One of CAC’s early season retail partners, Mollie Stone’s, created a Big Game sales contest for all its stores in the San Francisco Bay area, challenging its retail teams to use California avocado display bins, CAC-designed goal posts and signage to showcase locally grown California avocados. The chain’s newest store, for example, crafted produce department displays using multiple California avocado point-of-sale materials and cross merchandising layouts to inspire shoppers with easy-to-prepare Big Game snack ideas. By showcasing large, high-quality creative displays of fresh California avocados in their locations, the top three winning stores saw an increase of more than 20% in sales/unit volume as compared to 2021.

The Big Game promotions were a game-changer in helping these retailers transition from imported to California avocado supplies. Further, when specialty retailers take this step, other regional and chain retailers take note thereby building awareness of the locally sourced fruit’s availability. Early season promotions also play a critical role in building demand for the fruit in advance of retail partners transitioning to peak season availability. These customers want to move California fruit in all sizes, in bags and as organic options at the same time and require significant supply in the pipeline to make the transition. The robust spring 2022 outlook for California avocados has fueled strong demand with California regional retailers and chain retail western divisions as the season heads toward March Madness, April holidays and Cinco de Mayo promotional opportunities. These mid-spring promotional events further fuel demand for and sales of California avocados as the industry continues peak volume during the summer months when American Summer Holidays promotions — Memorial Day, Father’s Day and the 4th of July — are planned.