CHICAGO, IL – Hazel Technologies is teaming up with Sysco and Avocados from Mexico for a second year to help ensure the produce inside the collaboration’s annual, direct-to-consumer, Gametime Guac Box meal kit, stays optimally fresh from the time its ships to kickoff of the Big Game.
The novel Gametime Guac Box is a DIY guacamole-from-scratch kit that contains all the ingredients needed for a restaurant-quality outcome at home, showcasing Hass avocados and a recipe playbook. Added to the box of fruits and vegetables is one Hazel 100™ packet — a small-but-powerful food innovation that is engineered to slow the ripening process and maintain flavor, color, and firmness in avocados, tomatoes, and limes.
Over the past two decades, United States consumers have fallen deeper and deeper in love with avocados. When coupled with the country’s favorite pastime – football – a growing tradition of guacamole during The Big Game shows no sign of slowing. Super Bowl Sunday is the biggest day of the year for avocado consumption in the U.S. To punctuate its popularity and the rate of increase over the past 20 years, Game Day consumption of avocados has skyrocketed from 8 million pounds in 2000 to 105 million in 2022. For the last three years, Sysco and Avocados from Mexico have done their part to make guacamole at gametime a highlight, and adding Hazel has only made the experience better.
“We were truly impressed with the impact Hazel 100™ had on our Gametime Boxes in 2022.” commented Julie Olivarria, Vice President, Produce, Sysco, “Bringing our consumers a premium eating experience is one of Sysco’s many objectives and Hazel is helping us achieve that goal. Being able to keep sustainability at the forefront of our Gametime Guac Box campaign while providing high quality produce in the process is a win-win in our book.”
“We truly believe that our strong marketing program, Sysco’s dynamic customer base and Hazel’s quality technology is a winning combination for our 2023 campaign,” commented Alison Snowden, Foodservice Sales Manager at Avocados from Mexico, “The Big Game is the #1 guacamole occasion of the year and the right ripeness is essential to making this delicious dip at home.”
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About Hazel Technologies: Hazel Technologies, Inc. is a USDA-funded startup company that develops new solutions to extend the quality shelf life of fresh produce and reduce food waste. Founded in 2015, Hazel Tech services over 250 of the world’s largest fresh produce packers, shippers, and retailers. Selected as a Finalist for Fast Company’s 2020 World Changing Ideas and winner of “Best Sustainable Packaging” at the 2020 World Food Innovation Awards, the company’s patent-pending technologies have been tested by top academic research programs.
For more information, visit www.hazeltechnologies.com.
About Sysco: Sysco is the global leader in selling, marketing and distributing food products to restaurants, healthcare and educational facilities, lodging establishments and other customers who prepare meals away from home. Its family of products also includes equipment and supplies for the foodservice and hospitality industries. With more than 71,000 colleagues, the company operates 333 distribution facilities worldwide and serves more than approximately 700,000 customer locations. For fiscal 2022 that ended July 2, 2022, the company generated sales of more than $68 billion. Information about our Sustainability program, including Sysco’s 2022 Sustainability Report and 2022 Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Report, can be found at www.sysco.com.
About Avocados from Mexico: Avocados from Mexico was created in 2013 as the marketing arm of the Mexican Hass Avocados Importers Association and The Association of Growers and Packers of Avocados From Mexico. Located in Irving, Texas, AFM encompasses a group of seasoned marketers with strong backgrounds in the CPG and produce industries as well as experience with some of the most iconic brands in those categories.
For more information, visit https://avocadosfrommexico.com/.
