One branding challenge many marketers of fresh produce have is the limited space in which to get their messages across.

“In bulk produce, a tiny PLU sticker is all you have for brand identification on the product itself,” said Terry Splane, vice president of marketing for the California Avocado Commission. “That sticker also needs to communicate other information, such as the PLU number.”

For California avocados, those requirements become even more of a limitation because there are multiple handlers who package the brand with their own designs.

Here are some solutions the California avocado industry has come up with to meet these branding challenges, Splane said: 

Some avocado handlers have developed bagged avocado packaging specifically for when California avocados are in season and have increased the prominence of the California origin.

A major national retailer working with multiple avocado handlers now has their own branded bagged avocado packaging that prominently calls out the California origin as well.

This season retailers are responding very favorably to California avocado display bins and signage that are integrated with the ad campaign graphics, and this in turn elevates brand identification at point of purchase.

This article is an excerpt from the July 2024 issue of Supermarket Perimeter. You can read the entire Branded Produce feature and more in the digital edition here.