WASHINGTON, DC- Avocados have taken the world by storm. We’ve come to love their incredible health benefits and versatility, and we consume them at any given opportunity. As a global non-profit organization and the international voice of the world’s largest avocado producers, exporters and importers, the World Avocado Organization (WAO) is committed to promoting the value of avocados in international markets.

Avocado boom in Europe

Ever since WAO was established in 2016, sales of Europe’s favourite superfood have grown phenomenally. The EU, including the UK, is one of the fastest growing markets worldwide and already the second largest consumer market in the world for avocados. “In 2016, Europeans ate more than 410,000,000 kg of avocados and WAO expects to see this increase to 480,000,000 kg in 2017. This means an 18 percent increase in just 12 months,” says James Bosworth, Chairman of WAO.

Europe-wide promotion activations with renowned retailers

WAO’s pan-European marketing initiative comprises partnerships with select European retailers such as Costco and Tesco in the UK; Carrefour, Monoprix, Lidl and Costco in France; Edeka in Germany; Bama in Norway; ICA in Sweden; and Costco in Iceland. In addition, WAO has launched a first-of-its-kind e-cookbook, “The Wonderful World of Cooking with Avocados”, along with large-scale social media and PR activities throughout Europe, dedicating social media channels to the green superfruit on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and Pinterest in three languages. “At the core of the campaign is the new logo and its title ’Avocado – The Fruit of Life’ which runs through all campaign materials and guarantees high recognition,” Xavier Equihua, CEO of WAO, added. Mr. Equihua continued: ”WAO has developed lighthouse projects which contribute to the incredible popularity of the fruit in Europe, highlighting its significant health benefits, addressing critical issues and using the social media presence of the avocado to generate even more attention throughout specifically established WAO channels.”

WAO transforms London’s iconic buses, black cabs and Amsterdam’s signature trams

Throughout the English summer, avocados took over London’s roads, as WAO unleashed its “Avocado – The Fruit of Life” branded buses and black cabs, in partnership with Tesco and Costco, on a grand tour of London. The hashtags #AvoBus and #AvoCab were created for passengers to share photos of their Avo-travels on social media and enter a Facebook competition to win a summer’s supply of avocados. The activation was a huge success in every respect, and was the first time Tesco and Costco agreed to co-brand buses with an agricultural product. The wrapping of public transportation icons continues this November with Amsterdam’s signature trams. 

“Triumph of the avocado” – Leading European business, marketing and daily media

The successful activation of the first pan-European marketing campaign for avocados is also reflected in widespread media coverage. Leading top-tier daily newspapers and magazines from the marketing, business, lifestyle and health sectors including The Grocer, Glamour, The Packer, Les Marchées, Lebensmittel Zeitung, Horizont and Werben&Verkaufen have covered the success of WAO in detail. The Sunday edition of Germany’s top-tier quality paper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung even dedicated a full-page article to the “triumph of the avocado”.

Avocado seed husks: potential gold mines for medication and consumer goods

What was long considered to be a waste could soon undergo a trash-to-treasure transformation: the avocado seed husk. In August 2017, at the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the oldest scientific society in the USA, Dr. Debasish Bandyopadhyay and his team from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley presented a groundbreaking study on the potential of the avocado. The study found that the avocado seed husk is bearing an, until now, unrecognized wealth of chemical compounds of medical and consumer value. WAO is honoured to announce that on the occasion of its mid-season meeting on 18 October it will be the first time ever Dr. Bandyopadhyay will be presenting his study before an avocado association promoting avocados in the EU.

Upcoming activations for the WAO

London is looking forward to an exclusive avocado-themed “supper club” in partnership with the renowned international food delivery service Hello Fresh, as well as a month-long collaboration with the UK-based Italian restaurant chain, Zizzi’s. Paris will dedicate a whole week to celebrating its favourite superfood by introducing the “Jambon Avocat,” a redefinition of the beloved French sandwich icon “jambon-beurre”, replacing butter with avocados. In Amsterdam, WAO-branded trams will brighten up journeys for commuters and tourists alike from November onwards, while WAO will hold a media event at the first avocado-themed restaurant in the world, The Avocado Show. In Germany, launches in 2018 include a partnership with Vapiano, one of the biggest restaurant chains in Europe with an urban and health-conscious clientele, as well as with the “walk-in-cookbook” store and recipe delivery service, Kochhaus. In addition to these exciting upcoming tactics, the vice chairman of WAO, Mr. Zac Bard, announced that in 2017 WAO will introduce World Avocado Day to be celebrated in 2018, which will be accompanied by a wide range of marketing and media activities.

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About the World Avocado Organization (WAO)

The World Avocado Organization’s (WAO) primary purpose is to promote and increase the consumption, awareness and value of avocados in international markets. It was established in February 2016 as an international non-profit organization. Based in Washington, D.C., WAO represents some of the world’s largest avocado producers, exporters and importers, including Mexico, Peru, South Africa and the United States of America.

The EU, including the UK, is one of the fastest-growing markets worldwide and already the second-largest market for imported avocados in the world. It is expected to grow by at least 15 percent per year in the next five years.