California Avocados 2026 Marketing Campaign Live with Grower Voices Front and Center Starting April 1
As of April 1, the California Avocado Commission’s “Voice of the Grower” consumer marketing ads are now live, targeted to run through the end of August. Building on the award-winning “What’s Inside a California Avocado” campaign, the evolved direction features authentic voices of California avocado growers, blending lifestyle content with grower storytelling. Assets from grove photoshoots earlier this year are running across digital, social, video, out-of-home and retail channels, driving traffic to CaliforniaAvocado.com, the store locator and direct to retailers throughout peak season.
Social Activity Builds Anticipation and Excitement for California Avocado Season
Leading up to California avocado season, the California Avocado Commission executed a social campaign to generate excitement for the return of the fruit’s availability, tapping into key social media trends while showcasing sneak peeks of the 2026 “Voice of the Grower” creative. Across Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and TikTok, posts highlighted grower stories, behind-the-scenes content from grove photoshoots and lifestyle-focused recipe ideas, giving followers an early taste of what’s to come. This pre-launch activity successfully built engagement, with social posts in November, December and January driving nearly 625,000 views (an increase of more than 181% from the same period last year), and generating 13,000 clicks and engagements. These efforts set the stage for the campaign’s full rollout across consumer media and retail channels.
Trade Public Relations Helps Build Customer Awareness of California Avocado Season
Press releases and interviews with California Avocado Commission spokespeople including Board Chair Rachael Laenen and CAC President Ken Melban have resulted in strong media coverage, building trade awareness about the start of California avocado season. Articles have appeared in leading trade publications including AndNowUKnow, FreshPlaza, Perishable News, Produce Business Magazine, The Packer and The Produce News, among others. An article in FreshFruitPortal titled, “California Avocado Commission’s first-ever chairwoman charts course for 330M-pound season,” was the most viewed for the publication on the day the interview ran.
California Avocados Star at Nutrition and Sustainability Week at the University of California Santa Barbara
The Commission continues to build a successful relationship with the UC Santa Barbara Foodservice and Hospitality team by participating in UCSB’s Nutrition Week. At a busy lunch period in the Carrillo Dining Hall, over 400 students sampled a tasty California Avocado Chocolate Overnight Oats recipe while learning about the health benefits of California avocados from the CAC team and UCSB campus dietitian. With about 26,000 students, the on-campus foodservice program serves more than 2.7 million meals each year.
