Campaign celebrates nutrition, culture and community, from MLB stadiums to Fleet Week, with unique retail and culinary activations

WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 30, 2025) — Avocados From Peru (AFP), the national brand of the Peruvian Avocado Commission, has officially opened its 2025 U.S. season with a major league splash: a high-impact partnership with the Detroit Tigers that serves as the centerpiece of AFP’s national marketing efforts.

“Sports inspire people to stay active and live well — values that Avocados From Peru champions in every campaign,” said Xavier Equihua, president and CEO of the Peruvian Avocado Commission. “No other origin does what we do to integrate avocados with cultural, lifestyle and wellness-driven experiences.”

The 2025 signature partnership with the Detroit Tigers, in collaboration with Meijer and Chevrolet, includes in-stadium promotions, retail displays, digital content and summer grilling campaigns. The centerpiece is a sweepstakes for an “Avo Tigers” Chevy Silverado pickup truck, with the grand prize winner to be announced Sept. 21 on Fan Appreciation Day at Comerica Park.

“Detroit is an iconic American city, and the Tigers are one of the hottest teams in baseball,” Equihua said. “Our partnership with Meijer, a loyal AFP customer, helps us drive consumption and brand engagement in the Midwest, a key growth market.”

During Memorial Day weekend, AFP brought culinary diplomacy to New York City’s Fleet Week by hosting a superfood breakfast aboard the USS New York, a ship built with steel from the World Trade Center. U.S. Navy and Marine Corps personnel were served Peruvian avocado smoothies and dishes prepared by Chef Mario Lanzone of Peruvian Brothers.

“It was an honor to serve the men and women of the U.S. armed forces at this special event,” Equihua said. “This is the kind of authentic, bi-national experience that sets us apart. It reflects our mission to share the nutritional benefits of Peruvian avocados through cultural and community connections. No other origin does anything remotely similar.”

Complementing its event series, AFP is rolling out a range of customized retail programs designed to educate, engage and drive avocado sales. Initiatives include a national e-coupon and rebate program, social media competitions, in-store activations, display and sales contests, recipe-driven digital content and a national mesh bag program.

Signature Guacamole Challenge events will expand to key U.S. regions, including Southern California, the Midwest and the East Coast, to drive avocado awareness and trial in priority markets.

AFP’s 2025 media strategy complements its retail and event initiatives with high-visibility placements across top-tier programming. These include serving as the local sponsor of this summer’s marquee broadcasts, such as the 2025 MLB All-Star Game airing July 15 on FOX, fan-favorite FOX culinary shows like MasterChef, Hell’s Kitchen and Next Level Chef as well as MLS and NFL games. The campaign is further amplified by a series of broadcast and digital promotions strategically timed to peak shopping moments.

“Our goal is to meet consumers where they are: in the stadium, at the store, on their screens,” Equihua said. “And to do it in ways that celebrate movement, culture and the joy of eating fresh, delicious food.”

Giving back and fighting hunger with nutrition remains a key pillar of AFP’s mission. In addition to its Guacamole Challenge event series, AFP supports food security through community-based donations of avocados from Peru to local food banks, helping increase access to fresh, nutritious food for families nationwide.

Peru is expected to export more than 200 million pounds of avocados to the U.S. between May and September 2025, reinforcing its position as a key driver of category growth. Even with a 10 percent tariff in place, Peru continues to expand its U.S. retail programs and deliver reliable, premium-quality fruit to meet growing demand for avocados across the market

“In a changing market, our goal is to be the constant,” said Equihua. “We deliver quality, reliability and creativity — values that drive results for our retail partners and delight consumers season after season.”

For more information about the 2025 campaign and Avocados From Peru, email media@avocadosfromperu.com.

Avocados from Peru and Lidl Award a 2024 Tesla Model 3 to Lucky Sweepstakes Winner

Arlington, VA – Avocados from Peru (AFP) and Lidl are excited to announce the winner of the 2024 AVO Tesla Summer Sweepstakes, one of the retail industry’s most engaging promotions, is Don Yovicsin of Pennsylvania.

The sweepstakes, which launched in July under the theme “Eat Healthy and Live Green,” received tens of thousands of entries from across the country. The campaign highlighted the benefits of consuming AFP products—promoting both personal health and environmental sustainability.

Just as electric vehicles reduce pollution and carbon emissions, enjoying AFP supports sustainable agricultural practices. After months of anticipation, the grand prize—a brand-new 2024 Tesla Model 3 wrapped in striking AFP and Lidl graphics—will be awarded to one fortunate Lidl customer.

The official prize-giving ceremony will take place at noon on Saturday, October 5, at the Lidl store located at 4000 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington, DC. 

To celebrate, the event will feature food trucks from Avocados from Peru and Lidl, as well as the Peruvian Brothers and Lidl activation team, serving delicious avocado-inspired dishes. This family-friendly event will also include appearances from local media and executives from Lidl and AFP.

“We’ve thoroughly enjoyed partnering with Lidl to promote our shared commitment to sustainability this summer,” said Xavier Equihua, President of the Peruvian Avocado Commission. “Congratulations to our winner, and thank you to everyone who participated in our largest sweepstakes to date!”

Event Details:

• Date: Saturday, October 5
• Time: Noon
• Location: Lidl Store, 4000 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington, DC
• Highlights:
  • Awarding of the 2024 Tesla Model 3
  • $2,000 Lidl gift card for the winner
  • Avocado-inspired dishes from food trucks
  • Appearances by local media and executives

Join us for a day of celebration and enjoy the flavors of Avocados from Peru while we honor our grand prize winner!

For more information:

Avocados from Peru
media@avocadosfromperu.com
https://avocadosfromperu.com/

The first small volume of Peruvian avocados arrived in the US in May. Starting this month and continuing through October or even November, promotable volume will be available. “In recent years, the Peruvian season has been extending and is now stretching into early November,” says Xavier Equihua, President and CEO of the Washington, D.C. based Peruvian Avocado Commission. “This is very good news as it offers retailers other avocado sources in the fall,” Equihua commented.

Last year was a record season for Peruvian avocados. More than one billion pounds of avocados were exported to more than 40 international markets, making Peru the second largest exporter in the world. Europe is Peru’s main destination, followed by the US, Asia, and Chile. “In 2022, the US received 277 million pounds of avocados from Peru, which was partly driven by Mexico having an off-season. However, this year will be different,” Equihua said. Peru is expected to export 220 – 240 million pounds to the US with Europe, Asia, and Chile again taking the rest.

Flat category
While these are promising numbers, Equihua expresses his concern about the category being static. “The U.S. avocado category has had little to no growth during the past five years as consumption has oscillated between 2.7 or 2.8 billion pounds of avocados,” he said. “After a lot of effort and spending more than $100 million per year on promotions, we are hoping that consumption will finally hit 3 billion pounds this year. There is still lots of room for growth, so we all need to work collectively to achieve such. Our goal should be to increase consumption in the next six to seven years to 4 billion pounds.”

While there is room for US consumption to grow, the country already has the largest per capita avocado consumption of any industrialized country in the world. “Overall, consumption in the US is big in part because of the more than 65 million Latinos living in the U.S. and thousands of Mexican restaurants and eateries such as Chipotle serving fresh avocados and guacamole on almost everything,” Equihua said. The West Coast and the East Coast are large consumption areas but there is room for more growth in these areas and of course in the lower consumption states located in the Midwest and Southeast. “In Europe on the other hand, the Latino (non-Spanish and Italian) population is virtually non-existent. There are also few Mexican restaurants and avocados don’t really show up on the menus of restaurants and eateries.”

Marketing tactics
To increase avocado awareness and complement the season, the Peruvian Avocado Commission will be offering a robust menu of in-and-out of store marketing tactics. “Some of the signature tactics returning this year include a robust e-coupon and IRC program, and the AVO Tesla sweepstakes giveaway with Lidl,” Equihua said. The AVO Tesla sweepstakes will kick off July 1 and run until September 5 and will be promoted using many in-store marketing tactics, including a custom mesh bag band. The sweepstakes will be open to residents of the 10 states where Lidl operates stores, from New York down to South Carolina. In addition, a new signature partnership with the Atlanta Braves will also start on July 1 through September 15. “We picked the Atlanta Braves as Kroger is the official supermarket of this important MLB team. The Atlanta Braves also have the MLB’s largest DMA as it covers five Southeastern states where few avocado promotions are implemented. The Southeast is also the region with the lowest avocado consumption in the country. The objective of promotions like these is to inject excitement and create awareness for avocados from Peru and indeed the avocado category as a whole.”

Publication date: Wed 14 Jun 2023
Author: Marieke Hemmes