Commission’s Living Well Brand Advocates Provide Credible and Engaging Content for Consumers

In a world where consumers are inundated with a variety of content across multiple channels, the California Avocado Commission remains steadfast in its goal to provide helpful and accurate information that engages consumers and inspires them to purchase California avocados. A recent survey of more than 1,100 Registered Dietitian Nutritionists in Today’s Dietitian magazine cited “bad influencers” as the source of inaccurate information. Further, that information is most often distributed on social media platforms, followed by friends, family and celebrities. To ensure consumers are getting the most accurate, credible and up-to-date nutrition information about California avocados, the Commission continues to work with credentialed and trusted Registered Dietitians who serve as CAC’s Living Well Brand Advocates.

This season, the Commission has again partnered with four trusted experts whose passion for sharing good health and good food is leveraged to drive demand for the fruit by sharing content concerning California avocado nutrition, the fruit’s premium quality and seasonal availability. Further, each of the Living Well Brand Advocates utilizes their storytelling and recipe development skills to create health and wellness content that provides usage tips, how-to suggestions, nutritional information and recipes in sync with current food and lifestyle trends. Their content is then shared on CAC’s consumer website and social media channels, as well as local television shows and the blogs, websites and social media channels of each of the Living Well Brand Advocates. By sharing this informative and engaging content across a variety of platforms, the Commission is able to reach a diverse and targeted consumer base.

In total, the four RDNs developed nine new recipes based around themes developed by the Commission. To ensure the recipes were both consumer friendly and delivered on taste, the CAC team conducted recipe tasting and nutritional analysis of each recipe. Commission-led photo shoots ensured the quality of each recipe was accompanied by artistic and appealing imagery.

Mascha Davis, MS, RD developed content around a “Know Where Your Food Comes From” theme. To showcase the locally grown fruit, she created an 11-slide Instagram Story featuring photos from a California avocado grove and shared a “toast” to the 10th anniversary of California Avocado Month on her Instagram page. She also developed a California Avocado Goat Cheese Truffle Pop recipe for the Commission that was shared across social and digital channels. As Mascha noted, “The love for California avocados is real! My community is always interested in good food and anything to do with avocados gets them excited. Being able to show them an avocado grove and share some of the special California avocado history was fantastic.”

Bonnie Taub-Dix, MA, RDN, CDN helped consumers discover “Five Easy Ways to Incorporate Avocados into Your Diet” by producing an article on CaliforniaAvocado.com and a seven-slide Instagram Reel and Story. Her article, which provided simple and useful tips encouraging consumers to integrate the fruit into their dietary lifestyle, has had 242 page views since April 26. Because the article is “evergreen” content of interest to consumers beyond the California avocado season, it will remain housed in the Lifestyle and Healthy Living sections of CAC’s consumer website where it is expected to earn additional clicks in the future. Her Instagram Reel, which has earned 547 plays and reached 469 accounts, will remain live as well. As part of her campaign, Bonnie also developed a Farro “Fried” Rice and California Avocado recipe that she shared with her dedicated followers on social media.

Liz Shaw, MS, RDN, CLT, CPT developed a California Avocado “Feta” Greek Mezze Salad to showcase California avocados as the “Star of a Family-focused Meal.” On June 2, she prepared simple summer meals using California avocados and other kitchen staples on ABC TV’s San Diego Connect show and celebrated the fruit’s peak season on her digital channels.

Manuel Villacorta, MS, RDN shared weight management strategies with his followers and developed as well as showcased California avocado recipes to help consumers with their weight loss goals. He created five meal replacement smoothies including a Mango, Spinach and Avocado Smoothie; Creamy Cinnamon, Carrot, Orange and Avocado Smoothie; Cool Veggie, Pineapple and Avocado Smoothie; Blueberry, Zucchini and Avocado Smoothie and a Strawberry, Watermelon, Avocado and Mint Smoothie. In addition, he developed a Roasted Veggie Pasta with Avocado Pesto Sauce recipe. His three-video YouTube series demonstrated how to prepare the recipes and tips for incorporating avocados into a weight management dietary lifestyle and included links to the Commission’s website. He also published a blog post on his personal website with links to the weight management recipes on the Commission’s consumer website and shared his videos across his Instagram and Facebook channels.

California avocado fans value and trust the content generated by these experts. Ultimately, providing consumers with engaging, reliable and informative health and wellness content helps build loyalty for the California Avocados brand. Further, by offering content that covers a broad array of topics — from where and by whom their avocados are grown to the nutritional benefits of the versatile fruit featured in on-trend recipes — the Commission piques the interest of consumers and encourages them to creatively incorporate the fruit into their dietary lifestyle.