The avocado trend is popping up in unique products worldwide. This month, both McDonalds Japan and Burger King Japan launched avocado-containing sandwiches. Positioned for breakfast, the avocado toast from McDonalds is avocado, ham, lettuce and a spicy sauce on an English muffin. The avocado fish sandwich from Burger King Japan is a fried fish filet with sliced avocado and tartar sauce on a bun. On the other side of the Pacific, unique products containing avocado include Chosen Foods’ Avocado Oil Spray for cooking and Ruby Rocket’s Galaxy Green flavor of popsicle, boasting a blend of kiwifruit, avocado, green apple, banana and spinach.
Avocados are no doubt on trend globally, and nowhere is this more true than in the United States. In fact, consumption of Hass avocados, representing 95% of avocados consumed in the United States, has more than doubled since 2005 (Hass Avocado Board). In fact, 4.25 billion avocados, or nearly 1.9 billion pounds, were consumed in 2014. According to Google Trend, interest in avocados has more than doubled since 2005 (see below), with top regional interest in the United States, New Zealand and Australia.
Consumers are drawn to multiple aspects of the fruit. According to a study the Hass Avocado Board, taste, “being good for you,” and nutritional benefits are the three top reasons consumers purchase avocados (2013). Avocados have a healthy halo, delivering nearly 20 vitamins and minerals while being rich in monounsaturated fats, or “good fats” associated with heart health. Research continues to explore the benefits of avocados, such as a study published in Nutrition Journal showing that adding avocado to lunch may help increase satiety throughout the day (Wien and others 2013).
While delicious and increasingly popular, avocados can pose challenges for food formulators, such as color change over time. Download our white paper to learn how you can deliver freshness to avocados and other fruits.
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References
Hass Avocado Board. A Look at Fresh Avocado: Consumers Attitudes, Awareness and Usage. 2013.
Google Trends. (2015). Retrieved from www.google.com/trends.
Wien, M., Haddad, E., Oda, K., & Sabate, E. (2013 November) A randomized 3×3 crossover study to evaluate the effect of Hass avocado intake on post-ingestive satiety, glucose and insulin levels, and subsequent energy intake in overweight adults. Nutrition Journal, (12) 155.