The Hass Avocado Board in Irvine, CA, which represents all avocados marketed in the United States regardless of source, has taken a new direction in its focus this year, described by Emiliano Escobedo, executive director, as “a single-minded nutrition marketing and research strategy that leverages category resources and nutrition science to drive avocado consumption in the United States.”

According to Mr. Escobedo, “the main idea behind the strategy is to develop a positioning for the category, with a consistent call to action, a consistent mark or brand, and aEmiliano Escobedo consistent benefit as well as positioning for Hass avocados. This will be consistent over time and will be supported by various research studies that we have in our nutrition research pipeline.”

Currently, there are in that pipeline several studies in progress “focusing on four key areas,” he said. Those areas are heart health, weight management, diabetes and a healthy lifestyle.

One of those studies has recently been completed, the manuscript has been written, and “we are waiting for publication” in a peer-review journal, hopefully before year’s end, Mr. Escobedo told The Produce News Sept. 29.

The study, conducted by David Heber, a medical doctor and researcher at the University of California-Los Angeles has a lengthy technical title but “we call [it] the ‘Better Burger’ study,” Mr. Escobedo said. The research showed that adding half an avocado to lean hamburger in the diet “may improve blood circulation and reduce inflammation compared to a lean burger without avocado.”

In 2013, “we are expecting publication of about five additional studies,” he continued. “One of them will be … looking at the effects of consuming avocados on satiety” which has agement and diabetes. Another deals with the effect of avocados on blood lipids, another focuses on blood pressure, and yet another examines the potential benefits of avocados as a nutrient booster.

“These are all clinical studies, and we expect [that they will] shine a light on the nutritional [and health] benefits of consumption of avocados in a way that goes beyond what we have seen in the past,”Mr. Escobedo said.

Before publicizing any benefits shown in the studies, each study must first be published in a peer-review journal, he explained. Then the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration and other government authorities must review the studies “and give their approval for us to take the key messages from each of the studies and communicate them to a larger audience,” he said.

However, the board expects, as a result of that process, to be able to present a strong message to consumers regarding the benefits of consuming avocados. Once the studies are completed and published and the messages approved, “you are going to see the full force of the Hass Avocado Board behind the Hass avocado category, particularly with PR. We are going to have celebrity spokespersons like registered dieticians who are well-known to the U.S. public. We are going to seek placements in major publications on TV programs and on radio. We will have press releases going out. We are going to have just a massive public relations campaign to make sure that the word gets out and the message reaches our target audience throughout the United States,” Mr. Escobedo continued.

The communications effort will include national media relations, a blogger and social media outreach and various forms of online communications such as e-newsletters, he said. In addition, “we are going to be working with strategic partners” in the retail sector, the clinical sector and the dietary sector, including such organizations as the American Heart Association “to make sure the word gets out.”

In addition, the board will be working with affiliated avocado industry organizations from each major producing country supplying the U.S. market, including the Mexican Hass Avocado Importers Association and its counterparts in California, Chile and Peru.

“All of the countries contribute to the Hass Avocado Board through their assessments,” Mr. Escobedo said. The Hass Avocado Board is “developing a strategy and leading that strategy, and the different associations are going to be working with the Hass Avocado Board to make sure that the message gets out to the consumer and the different target audiences” according to the seasons and in the geographic markets that benefit each the most.

MHAIA, for example, recently announced its commitment to work with the Hass Avocado Board “to be sure that the messages behind the science get communicated and reach a broader audience than it would if it were just us pushing the message,” he said. Mexican avocados are in the U.S. market year round and dominate the market during several months of the fall and winter.

“At the end of the day, a positive message about avocados will impact everybody distributing fruit in the United States,” Mr. Escobedo said.

“None of this could be done without people that are willing to work,” he added. HAB announced in a Sept. 27 press release the hiring of a new marketing and communications manager “as part of the newly created marketing strategy for Hass avocados.” Gina Widjaja, who was previously with Sunkist Growers, “will play an integral role in contributing to the development and execution of the Hass Avocado Board’s marketing program, which is focused on nutrition and designed to increase consumer demand and further leverage the marketing strength of the collective member associations.”