Peruvians want Hass avocado

How was the idea of selling food for direct consumption born, Mr. Camet?

- The trend of eating safe, healthy, nutritious and high quality food is increasing worldwide, and ready-to-eat technology facilitates the immediacy of this consumption. Chile and Argentina have succeeded in developing domestic consumption of premium ready-to-eat Hass avocado in their markets by adopting this technology. In the USA and Europe, this business model has tripled Hass avocado consumption since it began more than five years ago.

What is ready-to-eat or R2E technology?

- The ready-to-eat trend is centered around fruit ripening technology. The procedure consists of placing the avocado in a specially prepared chamber to control temperature, humidity, ethylene and other factors. The ripening process lasts between two and four days, and the result is a product of standardized quality, with homogeneous flavor and texture. Standardizing quality 12 months of the year is of utmost importance to us - and to our customers - and for this reason we have sent our technical and professional staff to train at Westfalia Fruit Group companies in Holland and France, and we have brought international experts to visit our facilities to fine-tune the final details.

What are Camet Tradings strengths for betting on this business?

- Camet Trading is part of Westfalia Fruit, a multinational giant with a presence in more than 14 countries that specializes in producing, processing and marketing fresh subtropical fruits 12 months a year. The companies of the Westfalia Fruit group have been applying the ready-to-eat technology in their respective markets for several years with very positive results. With this support and experience, Camet Trading has decided to market Premium Hass avocado for export ready to eat all 12 months of the year in the Peruvian market.

Why did you choose Hass avocado for export instead of Fuerte

- Hass avocado is recognized worldwide as a Premium avocado of excellent quality. Avocado is a fruit with extraordinary nutritional benefits: it is good for the heart, helps regulate cholesterol, is abundant in fiber, contains more potassium than bananas. It has polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats in a higher percentage than the Fuerte avocado. It also has a longer post-harvest life than the Fuerte avocado, so it is less prone to rotting in the stalk area and is more resistant to handling.

Will they use domestic and imported avocado?

- Camet Trading is present in 14 regions of Peru and we can supply ourselves with Hass avocado from February to September. From October to January, we will import. We plan to do it from Chile with companies that are part of the group or those with which we have strategic alliances.

What strategy will you use to introduce and promote the consumption of Hass avocado in the hearts of Peruvians?

- Camet Trading is carrying out a communication campaign to accompany the introduction of our product in CENCOSUD stores. The basis of our campaign is to inform consumers about the benefits of including a Hass avocado in their daily diet, directly in the store. We will have our own promoters to interact with the public in supermarkets.

What does Camet Trading hope to achieve between now and next year?

- We hope to obtain a positive response from local consumers, because we believe that Peruvians want to find a high quality Hass avocado ready to eat throughout the year, at an attractive price. We will start this year with presence in three stores and with two presentations: the Hass of 300 to 450 grams in bulk and the Baby Hass of 120-160 grams in a bag of five units. By the end of 2017, we expect to be in the 16 Wong stores of CENCOSUD and in 2018 we will continue to introduce new presentations of the product and expand our presence in points of sale throughout the country.

Source: Agronoticias