IRVINE, Calif. – With 81 million pounds of avocados forecast to be consumed for Cinco de Mayo festivities, the event is shaping up to move even more fruit than February’s “Big Game.” The California Avocado Commission (CAC) plans to kick off its spring through early fall season with a strong Cinco de Mayo program that integrates consumer advertising, public relations outreach, retail activity and online marketing.
“California avocado season is ramping up, and we expect there to be a good supply of California avocados with outstanding quality in support of the Cinco de Mayo demand,” said Jan DeLyser, vice president of marketing for the Commission. “Mother’s Day comes right on the heels of Cinco de Mayo, so we’re encouraging retailers to merchandise both ripe and breaking avocados to capitalize on demand for multiple occasions.”
California celebrity chefs and restaurateurs Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger, well known as Food Network's Too Hot Tamales and for their participation on Bravo's Top Chef Masters, will serve as CAC’s Cinco de Mayo spokespeople. Milliken and Feniger will participate in media interviews and be featured in a broadcast news release to encourage avocado consumption for the event. The chefs will advise that California avocados are in season and perfect for entertaining from Cinco de Mayo through early fall.
Milliken and Feniger, owners of the critically-acclaimed Border Grill restaurants in Los Angeles and Santa Monica, Calif. and Las Vegas, Nev., as well as the Border Grill Truck, created two new California avocado-centric recipes for Cinco de Mayo. Their Crunchy California Avocado Fritters and California Avocado and Shrimp Tostadas recipes will be featured on CaliforniaAvocado.com, promoted to traditional media nationwide and marketed to influential food and lifestyle bloggers.
“Mary Sue and I are excited to speak on behalf of the California Avocado Commission because honestly there is nothing better than California avocados,” said Feniger.
“We use thousands of pounds of avocados in our restaurants each year and look forward to the California season when the fruit is dependably creamy, nutty, and delicious,” said Milliken
This year CAC developed a recipe for a produce-rich Cinco de Mayo salad. The salad calls for just five ingredients: California avocados, Dulcinea PureHeart® Mini Watermelons, jicama, lime juice, salt and cayenne pepper. CAC will promote the recipe online, on its Facebook page, which now has more than 80,000 fans, and through a recipe email in April to more than 130,000 subscribers. The Commission also will create a Cinco de Mayo microsite and mobile page so that shoppers can access California avocado recipes and party ideas while on the go. A social media sweepstakes for California avocado fans also will encourage consumer awareness. Point-of-sale materials, including Cinco de Mayo signage, California avocado recipe booklets and display bins, are available for retailers/wholesalers and can be ordered at CaliforniaAvocado.com/retailers-pos-order-form.
About the California Avocado Commission
Created in 1978, the California Avocado Commission strives to increase demand for California avocados through advertising, promotion and public relations, and engages in related industry activities that benefit the state’s nearly 5,000 avocado growers. The California Avocado Commission serves as the official information source for California avocados and the California avocado industry. For information about California avocados, visit CaliforniaAvocado.com, become a fan at Facebook.com/CaliforniaAvocados and follow the California Avocado Commission on Twitter at Twitter.com/CA_Avocados.
Source: California Avocado Commission
