This week, Lantao received the first shipment of Mission Produce Mexican Avocados in Shanghai, China. This is the first time that the fruit will be distributed across China to second tier cities, according to a press release.
“We are very excited about the potential for avocados in China. Our strategic alliance with Lantao gives us a strong partner in the market who understands avocados and our business model,” says Ron Araiza, Director of Sales for Mission Produce. “We believe this market is staged for growth, and we’re excited to be leading the way in this expansion.”
Lantao has market branches in China’s “big-three”: Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, and all the inner cities of Zhengzhou, Shenyang, and Harbin. These secondary markets are all surpassing the big-three in terms of growth rate with populations of over 8 million people each, according to the USDA Foreign Ag Service.
Araiza, and Thomas Padilla, Export Sales Representative, have scheduled a trip to China in December to monitor arrivals and gather additional information on the region’s market potential for avocados. “We believe that along with Lantao we can expand distribution and spark additional avocado consumption in China,” says Padilla.
John Wang, CEO of Lantao, suggested that although the strategy will be slow, there will be steady growth in the second-tier markets. “The new marketing approach through the inner cities will increase consumer recognition of avocados and lead to more Chinese people trying the fruit for the first time.” Wang added that the goal is to slowly increase consumption through education and trials until there is greater acceptance with the Chinese consumer.
Although these consumers will still need to learn to ripen avocados, the best time to consume them, how to open or peel them, and how to eat them, informal taste tests conducted by Lantao have shown promise for the fruit, especially when served with spicy flavors.
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Mission Produce
We’ve grown to become the world's trailblazer in producing, distributing, and marketing fresh Hass avocados. With…
