To help drive sales for an expected 120-130% increase in volume this year, the Peruvian Avocado Commission (PAC) has taken a "contemporary" approach to branding and industry communications in the U.S. through a website that emulates the visually-rich designs employed by the likes of Gucci and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). CEO Xavier Equihua hopes other produce groups will follow PAC's lead to foster a more entertaining and helpful visitor experience.

"It's about setting the tone of service inspiration for the category," says Equihua while walking www.freshfruitportal.com through the Avocados from Peru website.

"We present our product in a much more contemporary way, like the great brands do theirs. For example, the landing page is an announcement and you scroll down, and the reason we do that is, what do you do when you use Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest? You scroll down.

"No other origin has done this. They still use platforms that are 10 years' old - what we're doing is something you see with Apple computers, or with fashion brands like Gucci, Christian Dior, Burberry - luxury products - and you can also see it with advocacy groups like WWF, but you don't see it in the produce industry."

And when it comes the site's recipe section, the executive claims the website has a stronger visual focus than what has traditionally been seen from other category-oriented groups.

"When you go to our page it's like opening up a cookbook, where it says 'Cooking with Avocados from Peru'. That's what visitors want in a webpage, it's what keeps them entertained.

"What's the point of having 80 guacamole recipes presented very badly with thumbnail photos with low resolution? Nobody needs that many recipes.

"We wanted to throw out the door what other associations have and concentrate on no more than 30 or 40 recipes that we will change or rotate."

He adds the same visual approach has been given to the site's retail support section so that supermarkets or other stores wishing to do promotions can be sure what they're getting.

"This webpage and the image is the same for all the markets for Peruvian Hass avocados," he says, adding the same page would be translated into British English, French, German and Japanese within a few months.

"It is a global brand and image platform that doesn't exist for any other origin," he said.

"It doesn't matter if people copy us. It's the opposite - it's one world for avocados."

Season outlook

In terms of the current season, Equihua expects shipments of around 130-150 million pounds worth of Peruvian Hass avocados in the U.S. market, in a very concentrated window until early September.

"It will be a great season for Peruvian avocados, for the simple reason that it's the only avocado apart from Californian in the American market that is considered peak fruit," he says, adding California does not have the necessary volume to supply the market adequately this summer, which is generally a period of strong sales for the fruit.

"On the East Coast the Californian avocado doesn't exist, it is not sold there. Right now basically we basically have Mexican and Peruvian avocados on the East Coast, so for the first time the retailer is seeing how avocados from Peru are managed.

"The problem with Mexican avocados is that during the summer you have an old harvest and you're entering a new harvest, so it can be very unpredictable."

The executive says Peruvian avocados are mostly grown on young trees, and the country's climate bears some similarities to that faced by Californian growers.

"The most similar is with California, because the Peruvian avocado plantations are on the coast; they’re not inland like in Michoacán (Mexico)," he says.

"The other thing that Peru has that's similar to California is that it doesn’t have rain. In Peru everything is irrigated."

But one area where Equihua highlights differences to California fruit is sizing.

"The demand is there, especially for good sizes. If you want small fruit, then no, Peru is not a supplier of marbles. California has a lot of marbles this year."

Labeling breakthrough

Equihua highlights Hass avocados can now be labeled with the words 'super fruit nutrition', after a deal was reached with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to allow the term.

"Any origin under the federal promotion program can utilize this; it's not exclusive to us, but it's a significant step," he says, adding that associations from Mexico, California and Chile also fall under the program.

"We were the first to plead that they allow us to use super fruit nutrition.

"Another important message is this: 'eat healthy, not heavy'. It sounds like something very obvious, but it’s not so obvious when thinking about the messages that the USDA lets you use."

Photos: Peruvian Avocado Commission

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