Italian company to launch L’Avocado Italiano by Jingold, backed by ambitious production plans through new joint venture AgroAvo
Leading marketer Jingold has announced it is to begin selling Italian-grown avocados – the first time it has expanded its brand beyond kiwifruit.
According to the company, avocados have seen “a veritable boom in consumption” in recent years, and now top GS1 Italy’s Osservatorio Immagino ranking – based on NielsenIQ data – as the fastest-growing product in Italian shopping baskets.
In response, Jingold says it plans to start selling L’Avocado Italiano by Jingold, which will appear on supermarket shelves, in wholesale markets, and online from the second week of December.
“This season, the product will be dedicated to the domestic market, with the aim of guaranteeing a fruit with excellent organoleptic characteristics, of Italian origin and supported by an established and recognisable brand synonymous with quality, innovation, and sustainability,” explains Giacomo Mazzotti, the group’s commercial supply chain officer.
By putting its brand to the product, the company aims to guide the development of what remains an emerging category by implementing the same high standards, rigorous technical oversight, and supply chain model it has already demonstrated for kiwifruit.
Its first volumes come from a combined 13ha of production in Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, and Sicily – all of which are in at least their second year of harvest.
But its trajectory is much more ambitious: together with its private equity partner IDeA Agro and Sicilian producer-distributor Spo Zentrum, Jingold has formed a new joint venture company called AgroAvo, which will lead a major new production development in Sicily.
It will start with an area of approximately 70ha in the province of Syracuse, with plantings scheduled for completion by spring 2026 and a goal of 100ha in production in the coming years. That local supply is a key part of Jingold’s plan.
“Our avocado, in addition to the advantages of a domestic product that ripens in the field and doesn’t spend a month in ships, offers optimal intrinsic quality and a high dry matter content,” explains Andrea Casalboni, agronomist at the Jingold technical office and head of the avocado project.
‘Natural step’
The key is to offer growers something new. “We have five years of direct experience with our producers and a network of technicians who constantly monitor the area,” Casalboni continues. “We are looking for new farmers interested in collaborating with us, offering ongoing technical assistance, plant incentives, and a solid sales network.
“The goal is to ensure satisfactory production and an adequate economic return, with a superior-quality fruit sourced from sustainable local producers.”
For Alessandro Fornari, general manager of Jingold, the move into avocados represents a natural evolution for the group.
“Jingold has made innovation a cornerstone, and over the years we have tested various species, with the aim of offering kiwifruit alongside other products with compatible values and, at the same time, offering our farmers an opportunity for production diversification,” he says. “Avocado has engaged and inspired the entire team and represents a natural evolution of our journey.”
