The World Avocado Organisation (WAO) is a non-profit organization founded in 2016 that represents avocado growers, national grower associations, and importers in the northern and southern hemispheres.

Shelly Vorster, the organization's marketing director, said during her presentation at the Global Avocado Summit 2024 that the organization's efforts are focused on growing the avocado industry globally through education about the fruit's health benefits.

“We are the industry's voice, so we try to reach consumers on their phones, in their homes, and on all media channels,” Vorster said.

Investing in promotion increases the size of the category, which is WAO's goal.

“We are investing in data better to understand the category by country and supermarket,” Vorster said. “We also look at data to understand the European consumer, whether by age, social status, location, and when and why they consume avocados.”

Markets with the greatest opportunities in Europe

The WAO has found the markets with the greatest potential in Europe through this data. For example, “Spain is the country where most households buy avocados in the year,” said Vorster.

On the other hand, France was the only European country to experience a decrease in avocado purchases in 2023.

“Italy is an emerging market, growing more and more yearly; therefore, it has great potential and offers many opportunities. Currently, only 17% of households buy at least one avocado yearly. However, this is growing by 5% per year,” she added.

She commented that, for avocados, in Europe, most countries are emerging markets, growing year by year.

“UK consumers buy avocados more frequently, around 11 times per year according to our data, and only 40% of households consume,” she said.

With this data, Vorster said it is possible to establish a good strategy to grow the category.

Retail opportunities for avocados in Europe

WAO combines information from supermarkets in the UK, France, Spain, Germany, and Italy to show the volume and frequency with which consumers buy avocados.

“Our investment in the consumer helps us target our communications. For example, in Germany, consumers aged 15-34 are a very important group, which is not the same for all countries, as each has different consumers,” Vorster said.

She said that one opportunity lies with developing babies, as avocados can be a good introduction to solid food.

In addition, it is important to know what time shoppers eat avocado. In the UK, for example, it is most popular during dinner. In Germany, it is only eaten for breakfast; in Italy, it is eaten at noon with a salad.

“This type of information leads us to customize promotional campaigns in each country,” she said.

Consumer trends in Europe

Vorster said European consumers want to eat healthier, and avocados are a good option. He showed that 97% of people value a healthy diet.

“The Spanish and Italians are the most prominent in this regard, with changing eating habits, as around 15% of consumers have reduced their meat consumption, looking for alternatives,” she said.

“Therefore, it is important to show them healthy recipes for consuming avocado.”

Sustainability

She added that sustainability is important to remember as there is no very close relationship between Europeans and avocados.

She said that only 46% of Europeans know that avocados grow on trees, so basic education is crucial. “The focus on sustainability is increasing,” Vorster said.

Growing the avocado market in Europe

The marketing manager said it is very important to understand the movement of fruit from the source to the supermarket. In addition, it is necessary to study consumers and invest in promoting the product since increasing demand is essential due to the growth of production.

Based on the data, WAO has chosen which supermarkets to invest in in 11 countries and 29 supermarkets. It has also organized 80 activities to highlight the healthy qualities of avocados.

WAO found that in all European countries, the first reason consumers give for consuming avocado is health.

Social media has been one of the main tools WAO uses to promote the fruit to consumers.

“In addition, we help generate positive headlines in the media, as the narrative regarding the sustainability of the business is not always the best,” Vorster said.

More than 830 articles have been published in Europe to combat the negative perception of avocado production.

“More negative press increases skepticism on the consumer side, whether it's water use or deforestation, we see a lot of articles in different European countries every week,” she said.

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