Identify growth opportunities for Hass avocados with HAB’s Millennial Study

With 83 million Millennials in the United States, this influential demographic group is the largest adult generation in the country. As Millennial shoppers are quickly becoming a driving force and as their purchasing power grows, so does their appetite for fresh produce, specifically avocados. HAB’s Millennial Study helps the industry’s stakeholders identify growth opportunities by understanding how avocados are purchased and what drives Millennial shoppers to buy more.

All shoppers are relevant to the category, but Millennials are a huge population group with an immense love for avocados. Many of them have grown up along with the category, and for almost 17 years, they have been exposed to very comprehensive and large marketing efforts aimed at them to consume more avocados. For them avocados are not just part of a meal, but they are a part of pop culture. The work that HAB does through research and the marketing efforts made by the associations have definitely influenced the Millennial generation.

In 2019, the Hass Avocado Board published the Millennial Study. Part 1 revealed that Millennial households are a high-value segment of the avocado category, as they were more likely to purchase avocados and spend more per household on avocados than Non-Millennial households. Part 2 presented an insight into the Millennial avocado market basket showing that Millennial households are especially valuable to avocado merchandisers and retailers. From the perspective of the retail business, avocados have been a very important category in the produce department because of the growth that has been experienced over the years, driven partly by year-round availability, which allows retailers to consistently promote the fruit, and that generates velocity in the sales. But what else do Millennials shoppers pick up when they buy avocados? It turns out that the majority of what goes into the basket is more produce: 11 of the top 20 most often found items in the avocado market basket are fresh produce items. Knowing which products are compatible with avocados allows merchandisers to plan cross-promotions in order to drive shoppers into purchasing more avocados along with those ancillary products.

You can find the complete reports here:

Millennial Study Part 1 Millennial Study Part 2

This study is significant for all avocado industry stakeholders, to help them understand how the product they either grow, pack, ripen, transport, or sell at retail, is perceived by shoppers themselves, especially high-value customers like Millennials. When we understand our customers and do research to recognize the differentiation between demographic groups, we can better accommodate the customer’s needs. We can then create a shopping experience that can maximize value for retailers as well as ourselves in the supply chain. Giving our customers more reasons to Love One Today.