AVOCADO FACING
TOUGH CHALLENGE
Consistent efforts by AVANZA to educate the Korean consumer on the
health benefits of New Zealand avocados have been rewarded with a
season of record return, says market manager Martin Napper…but also
the development of a new conundrum.
AVANZA brand – owned by New Zealand’s largest
avocado export group AVOCO – now faces the
challenge of how best to meet the demand in Korea
and other high-paying markets, while avocado
growers grapple with achieving more consistent
production. Korea last year became the most important
avocado market by volume and value for New
Zealand outside of Australia, importing 1.1 million
avocado trays from all origins and more than double
the volume imported the year before. The overall
value rose by 158% – up from US$12 million in
2016 to US$31 million last year. AVANZA accounted
for 66% of the 145,000 trays shipped to Korea last
season, and returns per tray in this rapidly developing
market improved by close to 20% compared
to the previous season. Promotional activity led by
AVANZA has grown the avocado category in Korea,
where people are prepared to pay a premium for
large New Zealand-grown fruit. Three years ago,
62 MAY 2018
avocados were a relatively unknown fruit in Korea,
with only about 250,000 trays imported. That grew
to 500,000 in 2016 before taking a giant leap last
season when Korea became a one million tray market.
All the work we’ve done to educate consumers
on the health benefits of avocados, as well as teach
importers and distributors how to correctly handle
and store the fruit, is paying off with increased
sales. Young Korean women are particularly receptive
to the nutritional messages about New Zealand
avocados, which have been proven to have twice as
much vitamin B6 and 20% more folate than those
grown in other countries. Last year’s promotional
activity included an ongoing association with Maeil
Dairies, one of the largest beverage companies
in Korea. The partnership enabled AVANZA to
participate in Maeil’s soy milk and avocado smoothie
promotions, including far-reaching social media
campaigns. Market investment also included recipe
ideas and supermarket demonstrations, and in the
past four years, AVANZA has held 1500 sampling
sessions, reaching 600,000 consumers. Centrepiece
displays in selected stores also provide consumers
with the option to select a ready-to-eat piece of fruit
– a strategy that has been proven to increase sales
by more than 300%. AVANZA’s proven promotional
strategies are being applied in North and South-East
Asian markets - we have struck a formula that we
know works, so it makes sense to apply the same
strategies to all our markets, including Singapore
and Thailand – anywhere we can see potential for
real consumption growth as diets become more varied.
While developing markets outside of Australia
is important for the long-term future of the industry,
demand for fruit is currently outstripping supply,
which is challenging. Last season’s low crop volume
meant New Zealand could only export 2.2 million
avocado trays – less than half the volume shipped
offshore during the bumper crop of 2016-17. AVOCO
handled 1.3 million trays with about 81% sent
to Australia – New Zealand’s highest-paying market.
With China opening its doors to New Zealand, all
exporters want more fruit to maximise the growing
market opportunities.
MY SAY