Featuring West Pak’s “Bag to School” Program with Lil’Cados
Joe Nava, Vice President of Sales & Business Development, walks you through West Pak’s avocado retail syllabus to explain why adding a new SKU of bagged avocados can benefit your bag-to-school shopper.
What It’s Avo ‘Bout: Why Bags are Perfect for Families & Busy Shoppers
As the back-to-school season begins in early August, families prepare for the busy academic year, from upcoming classes to after-school activities.
Despite the busy time of the year, healthy meals and mealtime are still important for families. According to Stanford Children’s Health, when a family sits down together, it helps them handle the stresses of daily life and the hassles of day-to-day existence. Eating together also tends to promote more sensible eating habits, which in turn helps family members manage their weight more easily.
This quality time with family is one of many reasons that making meals quick, healthy, and efficient becomes top-of-mind. West Pak’s goal is to help enhance the avocado shoppers’ experience with ease, and that’s where a line-up of bagged varieties comes into the picture.
Bags of avocados are easy to “grab & go.” They make sense for families planning multiple meals. Once they are in a shopper’s home, they are easy to use at the time of purchase or stored for later use.
“The avocado deserves a place in every family’s home, even more so when the kids go back to school,” says West Pak Avocado Vice President of Sales and Business Development Joe Nava. “Lil’Cados give shoppers the right size for their needs and provide them with a healthy piece of fruit for meals or to snack.”
Contributing nearly 20 vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients avocados make a good choice to help meet nutrient needs. They provide a good source of folate per 50g serving, which is essential for proper brain function. But it’s the avocado’s great taste and versatility that makes it so popular with families with kids.
“West Pak makes a healthy piece of fruit accessible and hits the price point with a grab-and-go approach. These bags are also easy to promote; they are very warm and welcoming to the customers’ shopping eye, and there are tons of ways to pair up a little avocado. It’s time to go big with small-size fruit,” Nava adds.
Why Retailers Should Carry Bags
A recent study by the Hass Avocado Board (HAB) found that bags make up more than a quarter of all avocado purchases in the United States. Over four years, sales of bagged avocados increased by three times the rate of bulk fruit. One segment of shoppers purchased a combination of bulk and bagged avocados, making 32% of avocado-purchasing households. These households drove 50% of all avocado purchases in 2019, up from 43% in 2016.
“It is becoming increasingly important for avocado marketers and retailers to consider their product offerings in this rapidly changing retail marketplace,” explains Emiliano Escobedo, executive director of the Hass Avocado Board. “Bulk avocados are an essential part of the category, but bagged avocados continue to drive growth.”
According to Nava and the sales team at West Pak, there’s no secret that bagged avocados make a difference. “If you’re not talking bags with your sales rep, you’re missing sales,” Nava mentions. “The forward view of the market is in favor of bags, specifically sizes 48 and smaller. It’s time to get creative and set attractive retail on a piece of fruit that’s been so high-priced these past few months. Take advantage of the value while the market’s in favor of the little avocado.”
If a retailer is looking to move the needle on the avocado category, West Pak suggests adding bags. And if you already have bags, change up your lineup.
“Don’t be afraid to indulge in the avocado,” continues Nava. “There are never too many avocados at the grocery store. You could have the jumbos, little ones, average-sized avocados, and then organics bag – you can have a huge assortment, and they will still sell. So, dive in and find a way to move the category.”
The simplest way to determine if the West Pak bag varieties will work for your category is with an “Avo Audit.” West Pak’s sales team is happy to hop on a call to carefully walk through your current needs to determine what bags work well for your retail line-up. They’ll look at your current produce needs for August and September or analyze shopping habits leading up to the holidays. From there, your sales rep will provide a detailed overview of your category to ensure you receive the bags, avocado sizes, and placement that works for your shoppers.
Earn Extra Credit – Lil’Cados for the Win!
Score points with shoppers by providing them with grade A content. For example, let West Pak support your social feed by helping one of your regional stores partner with a local influencer to spur excitement or host a fun, engaging contest like a coloring competition, gift card giveaway, or photo challenge. Creativity is key – enticing parents and their kids to get engaged in the shopping fun!
Reach out to your sales rep to assemble the configuration that speaks to your customer HERE.
