WP Produce Corp., grows and ships avocados from its partner family farms in four growing regions in the Dominican Republic and Florida, delivering the highest-quality tropical avocados and consistent supply throughout the year. “The fruit is gaining in popularity every year, and we continue to see increases in demand,” said Chris Gonzalez, vice president of sales for the Miami-based company. “We saw about a 10 percent growth in the category across the board.” In addition to recently opening a new packing facility in Redlands, FL, with the goal to increase its avocado production, the second

The avocado has experienced almost unprecedented sales growth in the U.S. market over the past decade and there is evidence that it is the “super users” that are driving that growth and should be the consumer segment retailers target. At least that is the conclusion of some market research analysis commissioned by the Hass Avocado Board. In late July, Steven Muro, president of Fusion Marketing, which analyzed the data in the report, presented a webinar outlining the importance of “Super Users”, as well as “Heavy Users” and “Hispanic” households to the avocado category. Muro revealed that the

La Bonanza Avocados, a vertically integrated, two-generation, family-owned Mexican Hass avocado company, recently expanded its packing facility with new sorting and bagging capacity. CEO Gustavo Rivas said the grower, harvester, packer, processor, exporter and importer now has 10 sorting lines, nine bagging machines and the ability to precool 200 pallets of avocados in its Mexican and Texas facilities. The newly expanded packing facility in Uruapan, Mexico, has 21,527 square feet and has the capability to pack 80 loads with one shift. “We grow and pack our own avocados in the state of

SAN DIEGO — Avocados are perhaps the most beloved fruit in the world, owing to their tremendous taste, nutritional value and versatility on the plate. And their global appeal was highlighted during the second annual World Avocado Cup Regatta, held at the San Diego Yacht Club July 31-Aug. 1, and co-sponsored by the Peruvian Avocado Commission and the California Avocado Commission. The inaugural regatta took place in 2019 and featured a field of 10 sailboats, all representing avocado-producing nations. Like many events in 2020, the regatta was postponed last year due to the coronavirus pandemic

The Peruvian Avocado Commission has established a dedicated Organic Avocado Committee for the federal promotions program. PAC is devoting resources for the promotion of organic avocados in the United States. This will be one of the first times that an organic product will be marketed using assessment funds from an organization operating under a federal promotion program to support one of the fastest-growing segments within the produce category. Under the National Organic Program, producers, handlers and importers of organic products may request an exemption for assessments paid to a federal

Accelerating the process from harvesting to customer destination has been a focus of Henry Avocado since planting its first crop in 1925. “I don’t even like the term ‘cold storage,’ Phil Henry quips, “as it implies a holding pattern that could impact freshness and quality.” His preferred term is “fresh chain, ” as it describes a series of choreographed steps that Henry says assures “Quality in and Freshness Out” at all of its packing and distribution centers. They are designed to deliver custom-ripe orders, which Gil Henry pioneered for the company, and the industry, in 1983. Henry’s customers