A LOOK AT WHO IS EATING AVOCADOS? INFORMATION ABOUT CONSUMERS, DRIVERS AND BARRIERS, AND DEMOGRAPHICS 2015 USER SEGMENTATION ANALYSIS

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1 A LOOK AT WHO IS EATING AVOCADOS? INFORMATION ABOUT CONSUMERS, DRIVERS AND BARRIERS, AND DEMOGRAPHICS 2015 USER SEGMENTATION ANALYSIS

2 HASS AVOCADO BOARD TABLE OF CONTENTS Tracking Study Consumer Groups Consumption Organic Hass Avocados GMOs Food Safety Confidence Nutritional Attributes & Benefits Nutritional Attributes Important to Consumers Health and Wellness Benefits Consumer Demographics Food and Wellness Involvement High Love One Today Restaurant Consumption Consumer Demographics

3 CONSUMER GROUPS Purchase more than 120 avocados per year HASS AVOCADO BOARD TRACKING STUDY Each year the Hass Avocado Board conducts a consumer tracking study that measures important changes in avocado usage and attitudes. The Spring 2015 Tracking Study collected information from consumers about their demographics, avocado usage, advertising and PR awareness, usage drivers and barriers, food safety, as well as the importance of nutritional and wellness attributes and benefits. Purchase 37 to 120 avocados per year Purchase 12 to 36 avocados per year Targets for this web-based, self-administered survey were grocery shoppers older than 25 years that are identified as,,, and depending on their avocado usage and consumption. Purchase at least 1 but less than 12 avocados per year For the full report, visit hassavocadoboard.com/consumer Avocado consumption calculation based on frequency of buying multiplied by average number bought per occasion. 1 2

4 AVOCADO / CONTINUES AT RECORD LEVELS Consistent with recent tracking studies, two-thirds of consumers have purchased avocados for home use in the past year. The proportion of Enthusiasts/Lovers has gradually increased over time, and is currently 59 % of all avocado users one of the highest levels ever recorded. While Enthusiasts/Lovers represent 59 % of all avocado users, they account for 91% of the avocado volume consumed. 59% AND 91% AVOCADO VOLUME CONSUMED FACT 57% of lovers buy avocados every week - a level similar to last year. 3 4

5 TASTE IS A VERY STRONG PURCHASE DRIVER FOR ALL GROUPS. ALL USERS % % % % % CONSUMPTION DRIVERS OF AVOCADO PURCHASE The combination of being good for you, nutritional benefits, taste, quality, and variety of uses are key drivers of avocado consumption. While avocados are a household staple for many Enthusiasts and Lovers, they are much less so for everyone else. Good for you Nutritional benefits Taste Quality Variety of uses Buying avocados for babies or young children still trends low, but is trending up driven by Lovers. BARRIERS TO AVOCADO PURCHASE Too perishable Family doesn t like them Fat content Price Availability

6 A large portion of consumers have not bought avocados because of the price, with $1.81 being the trigger point. However, price is generally not a barrier to purchase (only impacting 15% of consumers). Fat content and lack of availability are not strong barriers to purchase, except for among the Challenged users. BEING GOOD FOR YOU AND NUTRITIONAL BENEFITS ARE THE MAIN REASONS CONSUMERS PURCHASE AVOCADOS. 7 8

7 ORGANIC HASS AVOCADOS Organically grown is a reason for purchase for two-fifths of users. This does skew higher as avocado consumption increases. THE AVAILABILITY OF ORGANIC FRUIT FALLS INTO A LOWER TIER OF DRIVERS FOR ALL USER GROUPS, BUT HAS BEEN CLIMBING IN IMPORTANCE FOR AND. 9 10

8 GMOs 21% 26% 14% 17% 23% 13% 14% 22% 13% 10% 22% Similar to last year, one-fifth of users regularly check to see if a food is GMO-free. Lack of familiarity with GMO has decreased from 19% to 12%. There is some, but not overwhelming, concern about foods with GMO. 15% 10% 8% 23% 14% 9% 21% 10% 25% 10% FACT Avocados are not GMO. quirkbrain.com/hass-avocados-genetically-modified-organisms-gmo Extremely Concerned Very Concerned Somewhat Concerned Slightly Concerned Not At All Concerned I m Not Familiar w/gmo About one-quarter of consumers express strong concern about consuming GMO foods. As seen last year, the heavier an avocado consumer you are, the higher your concern about consuming GMO foods

9 Confidence in food safety is similar for food in general, fresh fruits and vegetables and avocados. Scores remain similar to last year. FOOD SAFETY CONFIDENCE HIGH 19% FOOD IN GENERAL FRESH FRUITS & VEGETABLES 21% FRESH AVOCADOS Enthusiasts and Lovers are more confident in the food safety of avocados than they are for other fruits and vegetables or food in general. This was also true last year. 40% 37% 41% 40% 41% 40% Last year, Challenged users were more confident in the food safety of avocados than they were for other fruits and vegetables or food in general. This year, their safety confidence is similar across products. Ordinary users continue to have elevated confidence for avocados. 38% 3% 39% 4% 36% 3% 37% 4% 33% 5% 34% 5% Very confident Confident Somewhat confident Not at all confident 13 14

10 AVOCADOS DELIVER ON NUTRITIONAL ATTRIBUTES & BENEFITS NUTRITIONAL ATTRIBUTES IMPORTANT TO CONSUMERS FACT As seen in the past, Enthusiasts and Lovers place more importance on all of the nutritional attributes than do the other groups. ALL USERS % % % % % FACT Avocados are believed to deliver on 6 of the 17 health & wellness benefits of high importance to users. HIGH IMPORTANCE Heart health Nutrient boosting/helps with nutrient and antioxidant absorption Healthy aging Lower cholesterol/healthy cholesterol levels Satiety, fullness, hunger control Healthy skin There was minimal movement across the quadrants since last fall, except contains potassium shifted from high to low importance. Natural plant sterols, folate and lutein are of low importance to users when deciding whether to buy avocados. This was also true for the previous wave. 15 AVOCADOS Contain good fats Have nearly 20 essential nutrients Contain antioxidants Nutrient-dense Contain fiber Cholesterol free Contain vitamins E and C Less than 1 gram of sugar Sodium free Diabetes management, pain relief and child growth/development are currently of low importance to users when deciding whether to buy avocados. Avocados are believed to deliver on 9 of the 12 nutritional attributes of high importance to users. Contain good fats Have nearly 20 essential nutrients Contain antioxidants Nutrient-dense Cholesterol free Contain fiber Less than 1 gram of sugar Contain vitamins E and C Sodium free Contain potassium Low in fat Low in calories Contain iron Contain natural plant sterols Contain lutein Contain folate In older waves, Ordinary and Challenged users were similar in the level of importance placed on many, but not all of the attributes. For the last four waves, Ordinary users place more importance than Challenged users on many measures. Over time, the general user has grown in their association of many nutritional attributes with avocados. A few of these fell in comparison to last year, especially among Challenged and Ordinary users, and Enthusiasts. For the most part, agreement with nutritional attributes associated with avocados remained strong among Lovers.

11 Challenged users, which last year experienced a relapse in their agreement with many of the health and wellness benefits associated with avocados, more than bounced back. Scores are now higher than ever seen in previous years. SPRING 2012 % FALL 2012 % SPRING % FALL % 2014 % 2015 % AGREEMENT WITH HEALTH & WELLNESS BENEFITS INCREASES Agreement with the various heath & wellness benefits associated with avocados has gradually increased over time. There were many strong increases this year. Nutrient boosting/helps with nutrient & antioxidant absorption Healthy skin Heart health Lower cholesterol/healthy cholesterol levels Healthy aging Satiety, fullness, hunger control Healthy blood vessels/vascular health Smooth skin/minimizes wrinkles Healthy blood pressure Healthy weight maintenance/weight management Healthy eyes and vision Cognitive skills, brain health and mental function Cancer prevention Diabetes management/blood sugar & blood glucose management Weight loss Child growth and development Digestive/gut health Immunity Healthy sleep patterns Pain relief NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA Ordinary users increased their level of agreement this year with all of the health and wellness benefits of avocados Enthusiasts increased their level of agreement this year with almost all health and wellness benefits of avocados. Lovers have also increased their level of agreement this year with the majority of avocado health and wellness benefits. 17 FACT The importance of health and wellness benefits skews higher as usage increases.

12 FRUITS VEGETABLES OTHER HEALTHY FAT SOURCES AVOCADOS CONTINUE TO BE CONSIDERED HEALTHIER THAN THE VARIOUS FRUITS, VEGETABLES AND HEALTHY FAT SOURCES MONITORED IN THIS STUDY. AVOCADOS ARE MORE HEALTHY THAN TOP 2-BOX* SCORES AVOCADOS ARE LESS HEALTHY THAN BOTTOM 2-BOX* SCORES APPLES ORANGES BANANAS STRAWBERRIES BLUEBERRIES APPLES ORANGES BANANAS STRAWBERRIES BLUEBERRIES 39% 37% 42% 35% CARROT 33% OLIVES 37% 39% 32% BROCCOLI 37% 26% 40% 37% TOMATO 35% 33% 39% 30% SPINACH 36% 25% 33% 41% GREEN BEANS 29% 38% OLIVE OIL NUTS PEANUT/ ALMOND BUTTER 10% 11% 9% CARROT OLIVES 11% 12% 7% 11% 16% BROCCOLI 11% 17% 10% 11% TOMATO 10% 10% 10% 18% SPINACH 9% 18% 14% 9% GREEN BEANS 15% 11% OLIVE OIL NUTS PEANUT/ ALMOND BUTTER 11% 7% 12% 9% 9% 8% 36% 32% 36% 31% 45% 41% *Top 2-box: 4 or 5 (More healthy) a 5-point scale *Bottom 2-box: 1 or 2 (Less healthy) on a 5-point scale

13 FOOD AND WELLNESS INVOLVEMENT HIGH CONSUMER DEMOGRAPHICS 174 ALL USERS Lovers are the most food and wellness involved. All other user groups are also pretty food and wellness involved. 82% of Lovers are food and wellness involved Driven by our definition, Enthusiasts and Lovers are buying many more avocados per year than the other groups. Lovers buy more than twice as many avocados per year as Enthusiasts % 80% 60% 82% 74% 67% 66% 85% 75% 71% 62% ALL USERS 40% 0% 65% 65% 68% 68% 67% FALL 2012 SPRING FALL

14 AWARENESS OF LOVE ONE TODAY IS AT 12% OF ALL USERS AND CONTINUES TO BE UP COMPARED TO THE SPRING OF. 40% ALL USERS 33% 0% 18% 11% 5% 8% 11% SPRING FALL 16% 15% 12% 8% 2% naturally good fats cholesterol free Lovers and Enthusiasts are more likely than the other groups to be FACT Awareness levels are up since. aware of advertising for avocados. The top sources of advertising awareness are the same for all groups, and include television, in-store, Internet/Web/Blogs and magazine/news/print. There has been a slight decline in seeing or hearing news articles about the health benefits of avocados since last year for all groups. 23

15 RESTAURANT CONSUMPTION About half of users have ever ordered something made with avocados when eating away from home. ABOUT TWO-THIRDS OF RESPONDENTS SAY THEY ARE MORE LIKELY TO ORDER MENU ITEMS MADE WITH AVOCADOS. AS HOME AVOCADO CONSUMPTION INCREASES, SO DOES THE LIKELIHOOD OF ORDERING DISHES MADE WITH AVOCADOS. Even a large majority of Challenged users order dishes with avocados while eating away from home. 80% 60% 80% 79% 70% 68% 72% 69% 66% 63% SPRING 2012 FALL 2012 SPRING FALL % % % % More likely (net) % 57% 55% 52% 52% 54% 52% SPRING 2012 FALL 2012 SPRING FALL Much more likely Somewhat more likely Neither more or less likely Less likely (net) Somewhat less likely Much less likely

16 USERS ARE GENERALLY WILLING TO SPEND 85 EXTRA IN A RESTAURANT TO ADD AVOCADOS TO A SANDWICH OR HAMBURGER. ARE WILLING TO PAY THE MOST. WOMEN BUY THE MAJORITY OF AVOCADOS. 68% 70% 71% 66% 72% $1.20 $ % 30% 29% 34% 28% MALE FEMALE SPRING 2012 FALL 2012 SPRING FALL FACT Avocado lovers are more likely than all other groups to have children in their household

17 CONTINUE TO SKEW TOWARD HIGHER HOUSEHOLD INCOME. LOWER THAN $25,000 FACT Avocado users skew younger. 68% 70% MARITAL STATUS CONTINUES TO VARY SOMEWHAT ACROSS USER GROUPS. THIS WAVE, AND ARE MOST LIKELY TO BE MARRIED. 71% 66% 72% $25,000 $49,999 $50,000 $ $ OR MORE 32% 30% 29% 34% 28% 25% 22% 29% 34% 24% 27% 31% 25% 22% 26% 25% 25% 30% 21% 29% SINGLE SEPERATED DIVORCED WIDOWED MARRIED LIVING WITH DOMESTIC PARTNER Consistent with their representation in the population, the majority of avocado users are Caucasian. Enthusiasts/Lovers have a higher propensity than Challenged and Ordinary users to be of Hispanic origin Reminder: this study only included English speaking Hispanics. 12% 17% 21% 17% FACT While most avocado users were born in the, Enthusiasts and Lovers do have a skew toward being born outside the 29 30

18 SPRING 2015 QUOTAS 8 REGIONS ALL AGE CALIFORNIA CA WEST WA, OR, MT, ID, WY, NV, UT, CO, AZ, NM PLAINS ND, SD, MN, NE, IA, KS, MO SOUTH CENTRAL OK, AR, LA, TX GREAT LAKES WI, MI, IL, IN, OH MID SOUTH KY, TN, VA, WV, NC, MD, DE, DC SOUTHEAST MS, AL, GA, SC, FL NORTHEAST PA, NY, VT, ME, NH, MA, RI, CT, NJ * Balance gender by region 30%-35% male and 65-70% female TOTAL 2,400 1, HISPANIC QUOTAS 205 N/A N/A Track Hispanic vs Non-Hispanic per region No hard limits NOTE Hispanics have traditionally made up about 8% of the total sample 49 states total, excluding Alaska and Hawaii (but including DC) Regional quotas started in spring, 2014

19 HASS AVOCADO BOARD MARGUERITE PKWY. STE. 250 MISSION VIEJO, CA