Holiday promotions add millions to avocado volume and sales during Q1

The Hass Avocado Board has unveiled its newly improved quarterly holiday reports, now featuring holiday promotional sales information.

This integration of new holiday promotional sales information empowers retailers, category managers, marketers and industry leaders with data to optimize promotions and drive avocado sales growth, according to a news release.

The latest updates provide detailed analyses of promoted and nonpromoted volume and dollar sales, pricing dynamics, lift metrics and promotional efficiency across various bulk avocado sizes and bagged avocados, the release said.

The latest report offers in-depth insights on the impact of holiday promotions on avocado volume sales during the first quarter. The Big Game, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day and Easter collectively contributed total category promotional gains, boosting first-quarter volume sales by more than 23.4 million pounds. During Big Game week, large avocado promotions outperformed small avocados and bagged avocados, driving a 105.1% lift in volume, 47 points higher than the percent volume lift achieved by small avocados, the release said.

Key highlights from the report include:

• Volume and dollar sales soared during the Super Bowl this year, with 62.2 million units sold reaching $59.4 million, an increase of 3.8 million units and $3.3 million in sales versus the year prior. Promotions drove more than 10.3 million pounds in additional sales.

• During Valentine's Day, sales reached 49.7 million units and $50.7 million in sales, with a 52.2% increase in promoted organic avocado volume.

• On St. Patrick's Day, 52 million avocado units were sold, generating $54.7 million sales, a 13% increase in dollar sales from the previous year.

• Easter holiday dollar sales grew 10.6% over the prior year and reached $55.1 million despite a slight decrease in unit sales and an overall decline in promoted volume across the category.

"This update marks a significant stride in understanding consumer trends and avocado promotions surrounding holiday sales," Alejandro Gavito, senior business insights and data services manager for the Hass Avocado Board, said in the release. "By incorporating detailed promotional insights, our reports enable the industry to effectively monitor sales drivers and identify growth opportunities during key holiday periods."

The Hass Avocado Board said the holiday sales insights underscore its commitment to providing actionable data supporting informed decision-making and fostering industrywide growth. Findings from this report will be crucial in shaping strategic initiatives and optimizing avocado sales strategies nationwide as consumer preferences evolve, the release said.

For a comprehensive overview of avocado sales performance during each holiday, including performance by region, visit hassavocadoboard.com to download the full report.