Summer continues to be a great time to promote avocados. Summer avocado sales continue to grow as consumers add fresh Hass avocados to a variety of dishes to celebrate dad, 4th of July, and the start of a new school year. The Hass Avocado Board recently published sales trends for these Q3 holidays in their quarterly holiday recap report, which provides the industry with insights for next year’s holiday avocado promotion planning.
“As planning for the new year begins, it is important for retailers to look at historical sales data to plan promotions as they look ahead,” explains Emiliano Escobedo, executive director of the Hass Avocado Board. “With advanced planning, retailers can get a head start on preparing their promotions and merchandising of fresh Hass avocados. The Hass Avocado Board encourages the industry to use the 2019 Q1 report as we enter the new year and utilize the Q3 report for planning summer fresh avocado promotions,” suggests Escobedo.
The latest holiday recap release for Q3 shows that families across the nation, and especially in California and the West regions, celebrated Father’s Day with fresh avocados, as national dollar sales increased +7 percent to $56 million. In fact, Father’s Day week dollar sales have increased each year for the past four years, up +35 percent over 2016.
The most prominent holiday of the summer is 4th of July. This year, dollar sales reached $62 million, up +16 percent over the prior year and +38 percent vs. 2016. All regions contributed to dollar growth and dollar sales increased by +$8.7 million nationally. Regional dollar gains ranged from +3 percent in the Northeast region to +25 percent in California and the Great Lakes.
“The 4th of July is traditionally a high-volume holiday as shoppers add fresh avocados into their dishes and as a topper to burgers, hot dogs and so much more. However, we continue to see more holidays spike in avocado sales including Father’s Day and Labor Day,” said Escobedo.
Labor Day marks the start of a new school year for many busy families, and is the last summer celebration. This past Labor Day, sales increased +6 percent over the prior year approaching $54 million. The Northeast led dollar growth at +12 percent and per store sales were especially strong in the West and California regions.
To read the full holiday recap report, click here.
For more information: 
Jill Netzel
Tel: +1 (818) 718-8084
Email: jnetzel@fusionmktg.com
www.hassavocadoboard.com