Irvine, CA (May 2010)—Take a look at chain and independent menus across the country, and it comes as no surprise that avocados are gaining in popularity among foodservice operators and their customers. To substantiate and quantify avocado menu mentions in both commercial and onsite segments, the Hass Avocado Board (HAB) commissioned a menu tracking study using the Foodservice Research Institute’s (FRI) MenuMine database, and let the results do the talking. In the past ten years, avocado and guacamole mentions have increased 13 percentage points on foodservice menus, from 24% of all market sectors in 2000 up to 37% in 2009. An indicator that customers want too much of a good thing, the study finds that foodservice operators who offer avocados tend to feature it in multiple menu items. FRI looked at same store activity and discovered that avocado and guacamole menu item count increased 58% from 869 in 2005 to 1,371 in 2009.
 
Looking for avocado and/or guacamole mentions in popular cuisines, Mexican and Tex/Mex led the field with two out of three menu mentions of avocado and/or guacamole. Other cuisines with growing avocados and guacamole usage numbers (from 2005 to 2009) are California Pacific — up 46% with 158 menu mentions; Southwestern — up 46% with 101 menu mentions; American Traditional — up 83% to 86 mentions. Although a small segment, 38 mentions in Japanese cuisine, tabulates to an 850% in four years.
 
To keep up with the growing U.S. demand for avocados in foodservice, HAB ensures that a consistent supply of Fresh Hass Avocado is available all year-round. That makes it easy for operators to add fresh avocados to the menu whenever inspiration hits. In fact, HAB estimates over 1 billion pounds of Fresh Hass Avocados will be available in 2010, and encourages foodservice users to add avocados to customer favorites and signature dishes. For recipe ideas that take advantage of this growing popularity of Fresh Has Avocados visit AvocadoCentral.com.
 
About the Hass Avocado Board
The Hass Avocado Board (HAB) was established in 2002 after approval by producers and importers of Hass avocados in a national referendum. A 12-member Board administers the program. Over 20,000 producers and 100 importers are involved in the HAB which covers fresh domestic and imported Hass avocados sold in the U.S. market.