APTOS, Calif. (Jan. 11, 2010) The Chilean Avocado Importers Association (CAIA) marketing team recently visited Chile to experience the fruit harvesting first-hand and to become Chilean avocado experts, thus resulting in more effective and innovative consumer marketing strategies. The team included representatives of CAIAs PR agency, Sahlman Williams, Tampa, Fla.; ad agency Evans Hardy and Young, Santa Barbara, Calif.; point of sale/retail agency Augustine and Associates, Sacramento, Calif. as well as three of CAIAs four regional merchandising representatives. Maggie Bezart, marketing director and leader of the marketing team, and CAIAs executive director Xavier Equihua, were also a part of the tour group.
The members of this team are an integral part of CAIAs success, said Jorge Covarubbias, CAIA chairman of the board. Witnessing first-hand how our avocados are grown, harvested and packed in turn gives them the ability to educate others about our state-or-the-art practices and quality of our fruit from the avocado tree in Chile to the shelves of U.S. supermarkets.
The marketing team visited the avocado growing regions, including new avocado groves, terraced into the foothills of the Andes. Additionally, the group toured several avocado packing houses located north and northeast of Chiles capital and largest city, Santiago. Grower and exporter families hosted the team at exceptional meals in their homes and in the groves, giving the marketers a very personal taste of Chilean hospitality and food.
At the conclusion of our tour, the team agreed that they had a heightened understanding of the quality of Chilean Hass avocados and renewed commitment to communicate that message to CAIAs retail and foodservice customers and consumers, said Maggie Bezart, CAIA director of marketing. The time spent during the tour has been an important part of our planning process, as we continually work to integrate all our marketing programs to benefit growers, exporters and importers, as well as our customers and consumers.
Source: CAIA