CAC study finds ripe stickers on avocados boost sales
CAC study finds ripe stickers on avocados boost sales
SAN DIEGO -- Putting "Ripe" stickers on avocados that are ripe and ready to use creates a "call to action" that motivates consumer purchases and results in increased avocado sales in retail stores, according to Jan DeLyser, vice president of marketing for the California Avocado Commission, based in Santa Ana, CA.
In a recent study, "the stores that had the stickered fruit outperformed the stores without the stickered fruit almost 13 percent," Ms. DeLyser told The Produce News at the CAC booth during the Produce Marketing Association Fresh Summit, here, Oct. 23.
"If we tell the consumers" that the fruit is ripe, she said, "they will buy more." Putting "Ripe" stickers on the fruit is an effective way to tell them.
There are already several stickers in use in the industry. "Some say 'Ripe when soft,' " she said. Others will say the fruit is ripe when it yields to gentle pressure. "There are all different kinds of messages." But for the test, "we purposely designed a sticker that was very bright ... so that it was a strong call to action to the consumer."
The commission's RipeMax program, which was established 13 years ago as a training tool for retail personnel and an educational channel for consumers, was featured at the commission's booth during PMA. The industry's focus on providing consumers with ripe Hass avocados that could be used right away rather than just firm, green fruit that may take up to a week to ripen has been a major contributor to a dramatic rise in avocado sales in the United States, Ms. DeLyser said.
During the 2005-06 marketing season which was just drawing to a close, the aggregate volume of avocados marketed in the United States from all sources -- primarily California, Chile and Mexico -- "is going to hit a record 1 billion pounds," she said. Just five years ago, the tonnage was about 600 million pounds. "There are not too many items that could bump that kind of volume in that amount of time," she added.
The RipeMax program was designed "to educate retailers in hopes that they would communicate to their consumers better" regarding the ripe fruit they had on display, Ms. DeLyser said. Initially, the recommendation in "new demand" markets was for retailers to "present a variety of options" to consumers by having equal quantities of firm, breaking and ripe fruit on display, because some consumers might want an avocado that can be used that night, some might want one to use next weekend, and some might want to buy several for use at different times over the next week.
As retailers gain experience with the program and learn more about the preferences of their particular customers, they may make adjustments in the proportion of ripe, breaking and firm fruit that they display.
As consumers have "become more comfortable" with the idea that they can go to the store and buy avocados in whatever stage or combination they wish, their purchases have increased, she said.
The commission has conducted various studies over the years to determine the impact of the program. "It was phenomenal to see the difference it made," Ms. DeLyser said. "Avocados are an impulse buy, more so now than they were when this program started.
One the other hand, "When a consumer walks into a store, if the avocado is not ripe and they need it for tonight, they are forced to go to another store. So it is imperative that retailers handle ripe fruit every day of the year."
The industry has "a number of different ways" of providing ripe avocados, she said. "There are all different ways of getting there. But the consumer's ability to rely on ripe avocados at retail, I think, is the single biggest contributor to the growth of the category."
In a recent study, "the stores that had the stickered fruit outperformed the stores without the stickered fruit almost 13 percent," Ms. DeLyser told The Produce News at the CAC booth during the Produce Marketing Association Fresh Summit, here, Oct. 23.
"If we tell the consumers" that the fruit is ripe, she said, "they will buy more." Putting "Ripe" stickers on the fruit is an effective way to tell them.
There are already several stickers in use in the industry. "Some say 'Ripe when soft,' " she said. Others will say the fruit is ripe when it yields to gentle pressure. "There are all different kinds of messages." But for the test, "we purposely designed a sticker that was very bright ... so that it was a strong call to action to the consumer."
The commission's RipeMax program, which was established 13 years ago as a training tool for retail personnel and an educational channel for consumers, was featured at the commission's booth during PMA. The industry's focus on providing consumers with ripe Hass avocados that could be used right away rather than just firm, green fruit that may take up to a week to ripen has been a major contributor to a dramatic rise in avocado sales in the United States, Ms. DeLyser said.
During the 2005-06 marketing season which was just drawing to a close, the aggregate volume of avocados marketed in the United States from all sources -- primarily California, Chile and Mexico -- "is going to hit a record 1 billion pounds," she said. Just five years ago, the tonnage was about 600 million pounds. "There are not too many items that could bump that kind of volume in that amount of time," she added.
The RipeMax program was designed "to educate retailers in hopes that they would communicate to their consumers better" regarding the ripe fruit they had on display, Ms. DeLyser said. Initially, the recommendation in "new demand" markets was for retailers to "present a variety of options" to consumers by having equal quantities of firm, breaking and ripe fruit on display, because some consumers might want an avocado that can be used that night, some might want one to use next weekend, and some might want to buy several for use at different times over the next week.
As retailers gain experience with the program and learn more about the preferences of their particular customers, they may make adjustments in the proportion of ripe, breaking and firm fruit that they display.
As consumers have "become more comfortable" with the idea that they can go to the store and buy avocados in whatever stage or combination they wish, their purchases have increased, she said.
The commission has conducted various studies over the years to determine the impact of the program. "It was phenomenal to see the difference it made," Ms. DeLyser said. "Avocados are an impulse buy, more so now than they were when this program started.
One the other hand, "When a consumer walks into a store, if the avocado is not ripe and they need it for tonight, they are forced to go to another store. So it is imperative that retailers handle ripe fruit every day of the year."
The industry has "a number of different ways" of providing ripe avocados, she said. "There are all different ways of getting there. But the consumer's ability to rely on ripe avocados at retail, I think, is the single biggest contributor to the growth of the category."
