Mangos join avocados as Cinco de Mayo sales stars

Avocados certainly feature in Cinco de Mayo fiestas, and as an avocado leader, Mission Produce has high expectations for the green fruit leading into the annual celebration.

Cinco de Mayo also drives a huge consumer demand for mangos, said Galen Johnson, Mission Produce’s senior director of sales. Cinco de Mayo is the second-leading event for avocado sales opportunities and the top driver of mango sales opportunities throughout the year.

Consumers went for the green and gold for Cinco de Mayo in a big way last year: 32.4 million pounds of avocados and 12.4 million pounds of mangos were sold, generating a combined $99 million in sales, according to market research firm Circana. Consumer insight and data company Numerator is projecting those numbers to increase this year.

“With Cinco de Mayo on a Monday this year, we’re looking at large orders for the full week leading up to the holiday, and many promotions are starting the Wednesday before,” Johnson said. “Now is the time to lock in promotions, and we’ll be taking orders all the way up until the Cinco de Mayo weekend.”

The industry is looking at double-digit lifts in volume sales of avocados and mangos for Cinco de Mayo. In 2024, the celebration gave avocados an 18 percent volume lift and mangos a 25 percent boost in volume sales compared to the prior week, according to Circana.

“So, running promotions for the week leading up to Cinco de Mayo is key to drive more avocado and mango purchasing,” Johnson said.

With California’s avocado season ramping up as Cinco de Mayo nears, the industry expects strong demand, especially on smaller sizes and their attractive price point, he said. Supplies from Peru, Colombia and Mexico will augment California shipments.

“As always, quality is our focus, and we’re committed to getting the ripeness right for Cinco celebrations,” Johnson said. “We’re building custom ripe programs for our customers to meet the anticipated demand for Cinco with avocados and mangos that are ripe and ready to eat.”

Retailers can maximize sales with cross-promotions and themed displays to inspire avocado and mango recipes, such as mango guacamole and avocado mango salsa.

At the same time, foodservice operators can capitalize on a surge of consumers on May 5.

“Over half of Cinco de Mayo celebrators plan to dine out or order takeout meals this year, so we’re supporting our foodservice customers with an ample supply of avocados and mangos that are ripe and ready to slice, dice and mash,” Johnson said. “Promoting dishes that feature avocados and mangos is a great way to get Cinco started.”