A new season marks a new beginning for Just Avocados. Having announced its departure from Avanza – a joint export venture with fellow leading New Zealand suppliers Southern Produce and Primor Produce – the company is set to roll out its Mr Avocado brand to customers in South East and North Asia over 2016/17.
Just Avocados intends to trade with most of the markets supplied by Avanza, however, it will try to avoid head-on competition with its former partners.
“We will deal mostly with customers not served by Avanza and in some market sectors not pursued by Avanza,” Just Avocados’ Steve Trickett explained. “We export our macro market settings and volume allocations will largely reflect those of the New Zealand industry.”
Trickett said Australia – a market not previously covered under the Avanza alliance – will continue to be Just Avocados’ major export destination, with ‘rest of world’ markets receiving the balance.
“Just Avocados will continue to target opportunities primarily in Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand but we also plan to dedicate volume to developing new markets in Taiwan and Indonesia,” he said.
Just Avocados’ decision to ‘go it alone’ means it will operate with a smaller marketing budget this season, however, the company intends to support its customers with one-on-one promotional investments, where value added opportunities are identified.
It also means a departure from the Partner’s in Asia collaboration between Avanza and US-based Mission Produce, which has created a 12-month supply system in the Far East. Trickett said a similar arrangement of its own could be struck up in the future.
“In time we will explore alternative collaborations that might complement our business activities, whether with USA, Latin American or Australasian supplier partners however there are no fixed plans in this area for 2016/17 season.”
A full preview of the 2016/17 New Zealand avocado campaign appears in the July/August edition of Asiafruit.
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