Avocado claims testing - domestic research 2024/25 (AV24001)

This project is identifying the most compelling health claims that can drive avocado purchases among Australian consumers, especially light buyers. Findings from the project will shape the creative campaign for avocados for 2024/25.  

Challenge  

The Australian avocado market has seen strong demand and increased production over the last decade, thanks to favourable market conditions. However, supply is growing faster than demand, leading to a drop in unit prices. New Zealand avocado imports have also increased, resulting in more avocados than ever being available to Australian consumers.  

There is a clear need to boost avocado consumption to match this growing supply. Industry representatives have expressed an interest in using health claims in consumer-facing communications to achieve this. However, research is required to validate the impact of health claims on consumer demand and to prioritise the most compelling claims.  

Response  

Quantitative research will be conducted to validate and rank product attributes and health claims, ensuring confidence in the way forward. These claims will be evaluated based on their ability to influence consumer preferences, considering factors like appeal, relevance, credibility and persuasiveness.  

Key steps include 

• Online surveys: A ten-minute online survey with five hundred Australian main grocery buyers aged 18-75 who have purchased avocados in last six months, with the option to boost to the survey to a further one hundred light buyers. Surveys will test up to twenty-five health claims. 
  
  
• MaxDiff analysis will be used to rank claims from the most to least motivating, assessing their influence based on relevance, uniqueness, credibility, persuasiveness.  

The final result will be a comprehensive report with clear recommendations on which health claims to use in the upcoming consumer communications campaign, along with any optimisation suggestions.  

Benefit 

This project will provide the avocado industry with validated, data-driven insights into which health claims are most effective at driving consumer demand. By leveraging the right claims, the industry can enhance its marketing efforts, increase avocado consumption, and better align demand with the growing supply.