While other South African retailers need to import avocados from Spain, Israel and Tanzania, Pick n Pay through their fresh produce suppliers are excited about their low carbon footprint offering which they call Butterball avocados.
“This avocado is 100% South African, and its availability from November to January means that you can enjoy it throughout the summer months when avocados are generally very scarce or imported,” says Mari Viviers, national category buyer of fresh products at Pick n Pay.
Late season avocados are in short supply due to climatic events like a recent heatwave and a cold winter. She calls it a challenging year for avocado production.
“Without the Butterballs, which we present for the first time this year, it would’ve been difficult securing sufficient avocado supply at this period.”
The Butterballs are large, giving consumers value for money during a period where the weakness of the Rand limits the counts that are imported.
“A Butterball avocado is almost 500g per fruit, so a consumer can choose a count 10 avocado instead of an imported count 22 or an out-of-season avocado that’s watery and immature.”
It is a late avocado cultivar – they guard the cultivar name – grown for Pick n Pay by a handful of producers across the country, and it will keep them in avocados until the end of January. She remarks that avocado sales have been subdued all year as consumers cut down on spending.
“The introduction of the Butterball Avocado underscores our dedication to local sourcing and the promotion of proudly South African products.”
For more information:
Mari Viviers
Pick n Pay
Email: [email protected]
🥑 Butterball Avocado 🥑