Editor's Note: The following report is from The Packer’s Fresh Trends 2023, which provides insight based on survey responses from consumers. Since 1983, The Packer has sponsored 40 major consumer studies to track trends in the purchases and consumption of fresh produce, documenting the fluctuation in purchases of specific fruits and vegetables as well as changing attitudes toward industry issues.
Avocados have been called green “gold” for a good reason. The fruit’s marketers, fueled mainly by surging imports, have grown the pebbly fruit’s retail per capita availability from 4.8 pounds in 2011 to 7.4 pounds in 2019, according to the USDA.
Higher average fob costs were noted for avocados in 2022, the USDA said. The average fob for all avocados in 2022 was $38.13 per carton, up 11% from $34.45 per carton in 2021.
Retail promoted prices for avocados also rose in 2022 compared with 2021, according to the USDA. The average retail promoted price for avocados in 2022 was $1.67 per unit, up 13% from $1.48 per unit in 2021. The number of stores promoting avocados in 2022 totaled 834,046, the USDA said, down 16% from 984,286 in 2021.
The Fresh Trends 2023 survey showed 38% of consumers indicated they purchased fresh avocados in the previous year, the same percentage as Fresh Trends 2022.
By income range, shoppers earning $50,000 to 100,000 a year reported the highest level of avocado purchases (44%), followed by 39% for those earning over $100,000 annually, 35% for the $25,000 to $50,000 per year group and 33% for the under $25,000 annual income group.
Forty-one percent of women surveyed said they bought fresh avocados in the past year, compared with 35% of men.
Fifty-five percent of both Hispanic and Asian consumers reported avocado purchases in the past year, compared with 36% for white/Caucasian consumers and 24% of Black/African American consumers.
The Fresh Trends 2023 survey indicated that 41% of consumers with no kids at home purchased avocados, compared with 34% of consumers with kids at home reporting avocado purchases.
Western U.S. consumers were the most frequent purchasers of avocados, according to Fresh Trends 2023. Fifty-three percent of consumers in the West said they purchased avocados, compared with 37% in the Midwest, 34% in the South and 31% in the Northeast.
Consumers in the 50-59 age group were the most frequent consumers reporting fresh avocado purchases in the past year (46%), followed by consumers aged 60 and older (41%), 39% of consumers in the 30-39 age group, 33% for the 40-49 age group and 30% for the 18-29 age group reported fresh avocado purchases in the past year.