Like many California-based avocado packing and marketing companies, Mission Produce Inc. in Oxnard, CA, handles avocados not just from California but from other producing areas as well. Unlike some other companies, Mission Produce has made an effort to become vertically oriented in its import as well as its domestic operations.

“I think we have evolved into being more vertically oriented in all sourcing areas, trying to get as much ownership close to the ground as possible,” said Ross Wileman, vice president of sales and marketing, in an interview with The Produce News.

The Hass Avocado Board, which represents growers and importers of Hass avocados in the U.S. market, has for about the past year and a half been focusing primarily on nutrition research and nutrition marketing “in a way that supports the category as a whole,” according to Emiliano Escobedo, executive director of the board.

ESCONDIDO, CA — Perhaps overlooked in 2013’s rising numbers of global avocado productivity, is that a similar surge is occurring in the fruits’ worldwide popularity. And it’s benefiting the domestic market in two significant ways.

Sourcing a “global supply of avocados” from the regions that supply the U.S. market “is one of our organization’s top priorities,” said Doug Meyer, vice president of sales and marketing at West Pak Avocado Inc. in Murrieta, CA, in an interview with The Produce News.

An expert on digital marketing tried to demystify the subject during a seminar session at the Produce Marketing Association Foodservice Conference in Monterey, July 26-28.

Carisa Miklusak, who is the chief executive officer of New York-based tMedia, with that company name standing for “transmedia,” told the audience of foodservice operators and suppliers that their digital brand marketing should merely be an extension of their offline marketing program. “Define who you are offline before launching a digital campaign,” she said.

A collaborative program bringing the Washington State Potato Commission, farmers, and ranchers together will increase awareness about agriculture in the Evergreen State.