Yes, kale is hot on restaurant menus, but not half as hot as avocados. If I was an operator, I would wish for louder consumer clamor over kale, because with proper care, the cruciferous green lasts forever in the cooler.
But alas, avocados are what consumers want—even though the green fruit reaches ripeness whenever it wants and goes from perfect to rotten in the span of about 24 hours. And you don’t know ahead of time which 24 hours.
It’s a trend-watching supplier that comes to the avocado rescue, and that’s what I saw at the National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show in Chicago in May. Avocado mania was obvious to me because I was on the produce booth beat. Avocados were everywhere. Del Monte, which already launched ultra-high-pressure avocado pulp in foodservice, added a few guacamoles to the line. Megamex Foods introduced 2-ounce individual-serve containers of guacamole for restaurants to add to the snacking menu with chips. Avocado and guacamole sampling abounded everywhere at the show.
Avocados, which used to be reserved for sandwiches and salads, are definitely spreading out on the menu in unexpected places.
Consider happy hour menus. LongHorn Steakhouse recently added a happy hour menu, including a $5 Shrimp and Avocado Stack. Curra’s Grill has an Avocado Margarita.
- You would think avocados are too heat-sensitive for pizza, but Pie Five has a Chicken Awesome-Cado Pie featuring sliced avocados.
- Could avocados land on the dessert menu? Indeed. Popbar has an icepop flavor called Avocado PopSorbetto.
- You wouldn’t think you could make French fries out of avocados, but Cheesecake Factory found a way. One of its sides is Portabella Mushroom, Avocado & Zucchini Fries.
- Any other sides? You know it. Crop Bistro & Bar offers the Avocado Deviled Egg.
- Of course trendy entrees and appetizers could easily take on avocados, as in California Pizza Kitchen’s Avocado Club Egg Rolls.
- Condiments? Avocados play well in CPK’s White Corn Guacamole and Chick-fil-A’s Grilled Chicken Cool Wrap with Avocado-Lime Dressing.
- The number of burgers and salads that feature avocados are too numerous to count.
Menu pricing might be the next big story related to avocados. They aren’t cheap. I personally won’t pay more than $1 for an avocado at the store, and at Walmart the other day, they were $1.48 each. Who pays that for an avocado? Price might be another reason why restaurants could wish that kale tasted as good as avocados. Chipotle is raising menu prices for the first time in three years, and part of the reason, according to a Chicago Tribune article, is that beef, avocado and cheese prices have simply increased too much.
You would think avocado prices would come down, as there are more acres now than ever devoted to the crop. The U.S. imports a huge amount of avocados from Mexico where extortion by a criminal gang in the growing region of Tancitaro (located in the western part of the Mexican state of Michoacán) is likely to blame for high prices. The unsavory group makes $150 million a year extorting avocado growers and packers, according to a Feb. 1, 2014, article in The Wall Street Journal. The criminals also sell avocados from the 5,000 avocado acres they stole from farmers.
According to that article, “Despite soaring production, the wholesale price of avocados in Mexico has jumped 22% from a year ago.” An official estimates that extortion has added 10% to the price of avocadoes consumed in the U.S.
But in the end, consumers love the fruit, and restaurants are going to offer it. Just expect to pay for what you love.
Tell me what you think.
Jody
