Promoted for their creamy texture and “healthy” fat attributes, avocados were the No. 1 item that shoppers said they bought in the past 12 months that they did not buy previously.
Income, region and ethnicity are all driving forces in avocado purchases. Hispanic shoppers were the most likely group overall to buy the green fruit, as more than half of Hispanic shoppers said they bought avocados in the past year. Shoppers in the highest income bracket were the second-most likely to buy the fruit overall. The likelihood of a purchase has increased according to income for 10 years now.
Likely because of easy access to product, Western shoppers were quite a bit more likely to buy avocados than those in other regions. This is a trend also in its 10th year.
Middle-aged consumers age 40-58 were more likely to buy the creamy fruit than those younger or older. Black shoppers were least likely to buy avocados overall.
While the likelihood of an only organic avocado purchase remained the same as last year at 12%, more shoppers selected organic product at least some of the time. Thirty-eight percent of buyers said they made a periodic organic purchase in Fresh Trends 2018, a number up five percentage points from last year.
