Leading New Zealand avocado exporter Avanza will target India’s food service sector and emerging high-end middle class during its first full season in the South Asian market.
The group is set to begin shipping fruit to the sub-continent after appointing Mumbai-based Anusaya Fresh as its official import partner. It follows the success of trial shipments with the same Indian firm at the conclusion of last season.
Avanza director Tony Ponder said last year’s programme identified a growing demand for “good quality, wholesome fruit and vegetables,” which fits both companies’ mantras.
“Everything we’re sending into India is via airfreight, so the quality of fruit is exceptional; we can have fruit over there within seven days of it coming off the tree,” Ponder explained. “With such a good piece of fruit there’s no doubt we are going to be targeting high-end retailers and restaurants, and our trials there last year prove there is a market for it.”
While the overall outlook is positive, Ponder admits significant challenges still lay ahead, particularly when it came to increasing consumer awareness of avocados.
The fruit remain somewhat of an unknown quantity in India, prompting Avanza and Anusaya Fresh to develop a management strategy in order to gain a foothold in the market. Consequently, Ponder admits that “modest” volumes will be sent over the coming season, as the company looks to build the trade in line with a five-year plan.
“We are starting from a very low base, so we are going back to the basics and educating people throughout the supply chain on how to ripen and handle the fruit correctly,” he told Asiafruit. “At a consumer level, it’s about selling the health and nutrition story behind avocados.”
To help fast-track this development, Avanza has teamed up with peak industry body Avocado New Zealand to bring celebrity chef Kunal Kapoor on board as a brand ambassador.
“It’s all part of our bid to educate consumers on how to incorporate avocados into the local cuisine,” Ponder said. “We don’t expect this to happen over night but we have made a commitment to developing the market in India, and we intend to see it through.”
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