What was it all about?

From March to July 2023, this project addressed the knowledge gaps about avocados that exist among consumers and employees at a retail level, with a focus on different varieties and quality management, including stock management, storage practices, product merchandising and shelf management.

The program achieved the following:

• Reduced bruising and damage to avocados during merchandising.
• Decreased squeezing by consumers in-store to determine ripeness, while increasing their knowledge of how to ripen fruits at home.
• Displaced avocados at various stages of ripeness, such as "Eat Now" and "Eat Later."
• Increased knowledge among retail staff and consumers about different varieties, primarily Shepard and Hass.
• Expected increased demand for Australian Avocados, driving purchase intent, shelf conversion, and ultimately improving consumer satisfaction due to improved quality.

The program was executed by a field team of merchandisers who were deployed into a selected number of Coles and Woolworths stores multiple times. The merchandisers conducted surveys with retail staff, audited avocado fixtures and storage, and provided training on best practices to retail staff. Point of Sale (POS) materials were deployed by the merchandisers in-store, including at the avocado fixtures and in the stores' storage areas.

The merchandisers received training through an engaging eLearning platform, which included customised training materials provided by Hort Innovation.