The World Avocado Organization (WAO) has hailed the success of its "unprecedented" pan-European marketing campaign for the ever-popular fruit, with sales during 2017 rising by 16% in the continent.

At Fruit Logistica in Berlin some 200 WAO members from more than 20 countries reviewed the "most successful year for avocados in Europe" and set the stage for future growth.

Last year the entity launched the first-ever generic branding initiative for an agricultural product. Under the “Avocado - The Fruit of Life" brand, it embarked on a major campaign across nine European countries.

The campaign involved leading European retailers such as Carrefour, Lidl, Tesco, Costco, Edeka and ICA as well as innovative food service companies like HelloFresh and Zizzi of the U.K. and Kochhaus and Vapiano of Germany.

The campaign was further boosted by public relations and social media activities.

The WAO says it has "galvanized a fervent audience" of avocado fans online with a pan-European brand that has reached millions in its first year.

Tapping directly into the "culinary zeitgeist", the branding platforms dedicated to U.K., French and German audiences "have become a destination for cultural commentary, humor, news, recipes inspiration and health facts," it said.

European sales have grown significantly during the last couple of years, with 463,000 metric tons (MT) sold last year.

“This means that while in 2016 the European avocado consumption amounted to 400 million kg, 2017 saw an increase of almost 16 %,” said WAO chairman Zac Bard.

Not only are consumption figures growing but also the non-profit organization itself. In October 2017, Zimbabwe and Tanzania joined WAO, strengthening the organization’s footprint in Africa.

The WAO says the new African members document "an important trend" in the global avocado market, with the continent's producers and exporters 'growing massively' in Europe.

"Triumph of the avocado"

The successful activation of the first pan-European marketing campaign for avocados has also been reflected in widespread media coverage throughout Europe, with coverage in leading newspapers and magazines.

The Sunday edition of Germany’s top-tier quality paper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung even dedicated a full-page article to the “Triumph of the avocado”.

Few if any agricultural products have been able to implement such a robust pan-European marketing campaign like WAO has in less than 10 months, the entity said.

The WAO has also created the first global generic brand for an agricultural product with a strategically savvy combination of public relations, retail trade and food service partnerships and social media activations.

"These amazing results form a platform for even bigger success in 2018, where we will be injecting even more unique and world-class activities into our branding efforts”, said WAO CEO Xavier Equihua.

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