The variety in Australia is sourced from DBC Farming in Dimbulah, Queensland and has been marketed through a partnership with Costa since 2013.
The supermarket chain started selling the variety exclusively in Victoria in 2014, and due to its success, has this year expanded into other states. Coles Fruit Business Manager, Daniel Williams said demand for avocados continues to grow in Australia.
"During this growing window, traditionally we only have Shepard avocados available so this allows us to expand our options and the variety on our shelves," he said. "Maluma Hass avocados have been extremely popular with our customers and we expect this to continue.”
Maluma avocados are a sub variety of Hass, and Coles says this year's season is about halfway through its four week season.
A symposium on the variety was recently held in South Africa, the country of origin for the cultivar. It heard that volumes of Maluma grew by 120 per cent in 2017, producing more than 31,000 trays, with more than 26,000 allocated to Coles, with the remainder going to independent stores.
In Australia the Haas and Shepard seasons run counter seasonal, with Haas the more dominant variety throughout the year. However, the Shepard variety takes over between March and May, and with the Maluma season coming online around the same time as, it has proven to be an alternative for consumers.
The variety is still in its early days, but the symposium was presented with research from Coles last year that found the Maluma variety made up more than 30 per cent of sales with more than 760,000 avocados sold across the four week period. Shepards still made up nearly 70 per cent, but it shows consumers are prepared to buy the early Haas variety as a substitute.
"Coles is excited to be able to bring our customers in New South Wales, Victoria, and Tasmania more varieties of avocados for them to enjoy," Mr Williams said.
For more information
Coles
+61 3 9829 5111
www.coles.com.au