The California Avocado Commission and Naturipe Farms have developed a multi-faceted co-marketing promotion that supports the California avocado season from March through October. Naturipe grows and ships California-grown blueberries in the April through July window, and together the brands are capitalizing on opportunities for California-themed and American-themed promotions.
CAC kicked off the co-marketing activity by including recipes with "Naturipe" brand berries in the "Wake up to Breakfast with California Avocados".
Recipes featuring both brands, including avocado blueberry muffins and power breakfast parfait, are included in recipe booklets available for retail displays. In addition these recipes are being promoted in CAC's breakfast-themed online microsite and featured through social media outreach.
"Co-marketing with another strong produce brand, 'Naturipe,' and promoting innovative produce pairings such as avocados and blueberries encourages California avocado consumption and overall produce sales," Jan DeLyser, vice president of marketing at the California Avocado Commission, said in a press release.
To promote the concept of pairing berries with avocados, Naturipe will print recipes featuring California avocados on select berry packages. Naturipe blueberries are featured in a recipe for avocado pineapple blueberry salad, and sweet and savory tilapia tacos will be showcased on Naturipe strawberry packages.
Both recipes will include a QR code for further recipe details and a shopping list to encourage instant sales and a higher basket ring.
"The pride of California avocado growers and Naturipe berry growers shows in every bite of premium fruit," Robert Verloop, executive vice president of marketing at Naturipe Farms, added in the press release. "While it may not be intuitive to promote berries and avocados together, the co-marketing recipes and programs that we have developed demonstrate just how well these two fruits are when combined."
In 2013, the avocado commission has plans for strong advertising and promotional activity for the American summer holidays period of Memorial Day through Labor Day, with extra emphasis around the Fourth of July. A component of this program is a retail recipe booklet titled Have a Blast with California Avocados.
Several of the recipes in the booklet feature Naturipe blueberries, such as California avocado red, white and blueberry salsa and avocado banana blueberry bang.
As one of the few truly blue foods on earth, blueberries were a natural to include in this star-spangled promotion. Moreover, blueberries actually don't start out blue; they first appear white, turn red and finally blue, making them a great choice for patriotic-themed dishes.
Likewise California avocados are the All-American pick because California Hass avocados are the only Hass avocados grown in the USA.
Both partners also will encourage avocado and berry consumption by spreading recipes ideas and nutrition news.
Avocados and blueberries have some nutrition attributes in common, for example both are sodium-and cholesterol-free.
Naturipe blueberries contain four grams of fiber per one-cup serving; blueberries are also an excellent source of vitamin C.
California avocados contain less than one gram of sugar per one-ounce serving, and avocados act as a nutrient booster by enabling the body to absorb more fat-soluble nutrients in foods that are eaten with the fruit.
All of these messages will be communicated in the Have a Blast with California Avocados recipe booklet, online and via social media.
