Progress 11/01/07 to 09/30/12
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Six articles (3 refereed), One grant, 2 MS degrees, One awarding winning poster. PARTICIPANTS: Jynotna Kristnakumar. Graduate Student. MS degree Barbar Silva. Graduate Student. MS degree Guongua Zhang. Graduate Student Gwen Sissior. Graduate Student Pauline Sullivan. Faculty Theodore Radovich. Faculty Ken Love. Stakeholder Partner organization. County of Hawaii TARGET AUDIENCES: For market analysis, 55 avocado growers were interviewed by face to face and phone. Majority of the growers were from Kona, but there were few growers in other places. Farm-related information and marketing information were collected. The results showed that 1) almost half of Hawaii avocado production was wasted, without even reaching the market, 2) Hawaii avocado industry was not able to meet year-round demand, 3) the growers were stallholder farmers. Taste panel surveys were developed and administered to collect data from chefs and consumers. A total of 36 chefs participated surveys. 292 consumers were interviewed in KCC farmers market. The participants were asked to score the characteristics. The results showed that consumers and chefs preferred local cultivars to the imported Hass, and that not all local cultivars were the same. Linda, Malama, Kahaluu, and Yamagata received higher ratings than Sharwil. 495 respondents were interviewed face-to-face in Kona and Honolulu. The socio-demographic information and choices toward different avocado alternatives were collected. The descriptive statistics showed that more consumers choose labeled local avocados, and the regression analysis results indicated that there is a preference for labeled local avocados over imported avocados. Avocados are considered versatile fruits with potential for value-added niche markets. Hawaii has the potential to grow as many as 30 different varieties of avocados catering to unique tastes and preferences, increasing its potential for value-added market. However, there are two major reasons why Hawaii avocado industry failed to take advantage of a growing market. One is the inability to differentiate Hawaii grown products to local consumers, tourists, hotels and restaurants. The other is the lack of coordination among growers to supply year-round, consistent, high quality volume to the buyers. Also 49% of the locally grown avocados are not reaching the market and getting wasted and at the same time in order to meet the local demand, Hawaii is importing avocados. This project collects the primary data of avocado supply side, consumer preferences and the locally grown label impact to help understand the market and provide information for policy makers. Locally grown label is considered as an efficient strategy to increase the market share of local avocados. This project also gets funds from County of Hawaii for further research on branding. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
Avocados are considered versatile fruits with potential for value-added niche markets. Hawaii has the potential to grow as many as 30 different varieties of avocados catering to unique tastes and preferences, increasing its potential for value-added market. However, there are two major reasons why Hawaii avocado industry failed to take advantage of a growing market. One is the inability to differentiate Hawaii grown products to local consumers, tourists, hotels and restaurants. The other is the lack of coordination among growers to supply year-round, consistent, high quality volume to the buyers. Also 49% of the locally grown avocados are not reaching the market and getting wasted and at the same time in order to meet the local demand, Hawaii is importing avocados. This project collects the primary data of avocado supply side, consumer preferences and the locally grown label impact to help understand the market and provide information for policy and decision makers. Locally grown label is considered as an efficient strategy to increase the market share of local avocados. This project also gets funds from County of Hawaii for further research on branding.
Publications
- Krishnakumar, J., Chan-Halbrendt, C., Radovich, T.J., Sullivan, P., and Love, K. (2009) Supply Demand Integrated Management Model for Effective Farmer-Buyer Coordination Case of the Hawaii Avocado Industry. Journal of Chain and Network Science 9/1(2009):17-23.
- Sullivan, P., Chan-Halbrendt, C., and Krishnakumar, J. (2013) Are Farmers Market Only Shoppers Different than Cross-Shoppers The Case of Hawaiian Avocados (submitted).
- Krishnakumar, J., Sullivan, P., and Chan-Halbrendt, C. (2013) Effects of Label on Consumer Preferences: Focus on Hawaiian Avocado Industry. Journal of Food Products Marketing. (submitted).
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Progress 10/01/10 to 09/30/11
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Research results have been published as an extension publication. It can be accessed electronically for the public. Avocado farms have increase by 20 in 2010 and publication from this project would greatly help those wanting to start farming avocados. PARTICIPANTS: 3 graduate students worked on this project. 2 received masters degree. County of Hawaii funded the branding component. TARGET AUDIENCES: Extension agents, potential avocado farmers, avocado farmers, fruit tree farmers, chefs, wholesalers and retailers PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
Avocados are considered versatile fruits with potential for value-added niche markets. Hawaii has the potential to grow as many as 30 different varieties of avocados catering to unique tastes and preferences, increasing its potential for value-added market. However, there are two major reasons why Hawaii avocado industry failed to take advantage of a growing market. One is the inability to differentiate Hawaii grown products to local consumers, tourists, hotels and restaurants. The other is the lack of coordination among growers to supply year-round, consistent, high quality volume to the buyers. Also 49% of the locally grown avocados are not reaching the market and getting wasted and at the same time in order to meet the local demand, Hawaii is importing avocados. This project collects the primary data of avocado supply side, consumer preferences and the locally grown label impact to help understand the market and provide information for policy makers. Locally grown label is considered as an efficient strategy to increase the market share of local avocados. This project also gets funds from County of Hawaii for further research on branding.
Publications
- Chan-Halbrendt, C., Krishnakumar, J., Zhang, Q.A., and Love, K. Advancing Sales of Hawaii-Grown Avocados Through Labeling. Fruit, Nut, and Beverage Crops Oct. 2010 F_N-16 University of Hawaii at Manoa, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR), 2010.
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Progress 10/01/09 to 09/30/10
Outputs
OUTPUTS: In the study period, 2 surveys were conducted in Honolulu and Kona in September 2009 and January 2010 respectively with the cooperation of tropical fruits association and local avocado producers. 495 consumers were interviewed in total. Both descriptive statistics and multinomial logistic regression methods were employed to analyze the data. An extension paper is published by the CTAHR publication, 300 hard copies are distributed to the local growers and the digital version is available online. An grant of $5000 was received from the Hawaii County. PARTICIPANTS: 1. Quanguo Zhang. University of Hawaii, NREM. Graduate student. email address: quanguoz@hawaii.edu 2. Jyotsna Krishnakumar. University of Hawaii, NREM. Graduate student. email: jyotsnakkumar@yahoo.com 3. Ken Love. Farmer/business person. email:kenlove@kona.net TARGET AUDIENCES: avocado producers.results presented at the annual tropical fruit association in Kona in 2009. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
This study provides information on consumers' preferences towards avocado attributes such as color, size, cultivars and shape, and also provides a description of consumers' purchase habits. With regards to labeling effectiveness of avocados, logistic regression is used to explore the relationships between the choices with and without labels and consumers' social-demographics and origin of avocados. The results show that labeling is an effective strategy in capturing local market share by locally grown products. Social demographics such as gender, residence, and age can influence the choice of avocados. This information can be used for local avocado growers to identify the most preferred avocados, the potential consumers, and the possible methods to increase the market share through labeling cultivars and origin.
Publications
- Chan-Halbrendt, C., J. Krishnakumar, Q. Zhang, and K. Love. 2010. Advancing Sales of Hawaii-Grown Avocado Through Labeling. CTAHR publication F_N-16. http://www.hawaiifruit.net/avofinal.pdf.
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Progress 10/01/08 to 09/30/09
Outputs
OUTPUTS: The research results have been reported in 2 bulletins. They are: Hawaii Avocado Industry Analysis, Part 1: Supply Focus and Hawaii Avocado Industry Analysis, Part 2: Buyer Preference Focus. These publications are being disseminated on line free for the public and also on PI's webpage, conferences and seminars. PARTICIPANTS: Farm Bureau provided space to conduct surveys at KCC. The Hawaii Tropical Fruits Association via Ken Love assisted in giving advice on survey questions. Ted Radovich from TPSS served on the Thesis Committee. 5 graduate students had the opportunity to conduct survey. TARGET AUDIENCES: Farmers were informed of the results at the Annual Tropical Fruit Association Meeting in Kona, Hawaii. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
The study has lead to an increase in knowledge for the participants i.e. students, farmers and consumers. It has helped in getting a better understanding of the current situation of the Hawaii avocado industry. Information on local growers such as their farm characteristics and their socio-economic and demographic profile has been documented. Information on production quantity, varieties currently produced, the cost and income from local avocado production and its wastage has also been collected and documented. Information from chefs have helped in finding out the lack of coordination between what is currently being grown and what is actually preferred. Thus the study has lead to gain a broader and clearer understanding of the local avocado \ industry. These crucial information has helped in recommending strategies that can enhance the local avocado industry and help them become self-sufficient and reduce the dependency on imports. There was a taste testing subsequently by the local chefs on the different cultivars of avocado. This has raised awareness of the opportunity to use local avocados for different dishes. However, the seasonality of the different varieties might pose an inconvenience. Another grant from the county of Hawaii was obtained to look at the impact of branding on buying decisions.
Publications
- Thesis Barber, S.G. 2009. Consumer Preference for Avocados in Honolulu, Hawai'i: Latent Class Analysis of a Conjoint Experiment. M.S. Thesis . Univ. of Hawaii, Manoa.
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Progress 10/01/07 to 09/30/08
Outputs
OUTPUTS: 1. Inventory cultivars and select the most popular cultivars by taste testing. 2. Identify information important to developing sustainable competitive advantage by gathering data pertaining to the selected cultivars, supply including seasonal inconsistencies, quality expectations, and consumer demands through a survey of growers, chefs and wholesalers. 3. Increase the capacity for local farmers to produce quality and consistent supplies of avocados to the Hawaiian market. 4. Develop a promotional strategy to build brand awareness of Hawaii grown avocados by working directly with chefs, hotels and restaurant owners with events such as taste testing, recipe contests, and local festivals, for example, an annual Avocado Festival. 5. Educate local consumers and tourists alike through developing posters, calendars, recipes and an Internet site, which will increase the awareness of the quality and diversity of locally grown avocados. 6. Develop brand identity and build brand equity using marketing strategies that promote locally grown avocados. 7. Updating publications related to avocado resources will make this material available to other researchers and the general public. Objective 1: accomplished. Data was collected through face-to-face survey from the local avocado growers to understand the current industry situation and find out their willingness to adopt strategies that can enhance the industry situation. We also completed several taste tests on Oahu involving chefs and consumers, and on the Big Island involving chefs. Taste tests are aimed at identifying the most preferred cultivars. The data have been statistically analyzed and published as an extension report. Objective 2: accomplished. We conducted consumer surveys focusing on preferences for local versus imported avocados. Data were collected through conjoint choice experiment methodology in Oahu and Kona, and were analyzed using Latent Class Analysis. A presentation of the research at the CTAHR Student Research Symposium won as best NREM Master Student Presentation. A master thesis has been successfully defended on October 3rd, 2008. Objective 3: partly accomplished. The results of the taste tests were shared with growers through the extension report and a poster presented at the Hawaii Tropical Fruit Growers 18th Conference in Kona (September 26) . Information such as the most preferred cultivars is known to local growers, who can now have powerful information about the local demand for avocados. Conjoint Experiment results will be also shared with growers as an extension publication. We obtained additional funds from the Hawaii County for branding efforts PARTICIPANTS: Professor Catherine Chan-Halbrendt was the principal investigator for this study and also served as the thesis committee chair for the graduate students who worked on this project. Mr. Ken Love, President, Hawaii Tropical Fruit Growers Association-Kona Chapter, who was hired to the project as a consultant. Members of the Hawaii Avocado Association. Members of the Hawaii Tropical Fruit Growers Association. Ms Jean Hull, Professor (retired), Hawai'i Community College Food Service Program who assisted in designing the taste testing survey for the chefs. Silvia Gianetti Barber, who is currently working as a graduate assistant on the project and will complete a Master thesis based on the project, focusing on consumer preferences. Jyotsna Krishnakumar, who worked as a graduate assistant in the project, and completed a Master's thesis based on the project. Dr Pauline Sullivan, Associate Professor, Florida State University, who served as a collaborator in the project and a thesis committee member for the graduate student who worked on the project. TARGET AUDIENCES: Some of the objectives of this project were to increase awareness of locally grown avocados and work too: 1. Reclaim local markets from imports 2. Increase farmer acceptance on the importance of branding. In terms of increasing awareness for the varieties of Hawaiian grown avocados, taste tests for both consumers and chefs with selected varieties was very successful as outlined in the publications. Since these taste tests, the Hawaii Tropical Fruit Growers (HTFG) - West Hawaii Chapter has received numerous phone calls for these and other varieties mentioned in collateral. Chefs and wholesalers have been given the phone numbers and other contact information on the growers. Chefs have expressed their willingness to pay more for quality and consistency. Pricing of locally grown fruit is still under the cost of imported fruit. Farmers who feature these selected types at farmers markets and other farmers market vendors have reported increased demand for the fruit. This is a result of the taste tests, awareness of the university publications and both TV & print publicity. Vendors at the Honolulu KCC market are now willing to pay $1.00 per pound for the selected varieties when previously they would only pay 60 cents per pound. Because of the TV publicity with the interview of Ken Love on KITV, which is posted on the HDOA web site, he has received numerous requests to purchase avocados locally and from the mainland. These requests were also given to the growers. Growers with HTFG and the Hawaii Avocado Association have both expressed that this research continue and that local markets continue to develop for local fruit. Many have also expressed the need for continued branding. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
The study was conducted with many stakeholders/participants including the growers whom we bought some of the avocados for taste-testing. The collaboration has led to an increase in knowledge for the participants. It has helped in getting a better understanding of the current situation of the Hawaii avocado industry. Information on local growers such as their farm characteristics and their socio-economic and demographic profile has been documented. Information on production quantity, cultivars currently produced the cost and income from local avocado production and its wastage has also been collected and documented. Information from chefs has helped in finding out the lack of coordination between what is currently being grown and what is actually preferred. Thus the study has lead to gain a broader and clearer understanding of the local avocado industry. This crucial information has helped in recommending strategies that can enhance the local avocado industry, obtain a higher price for local avocados and help them become self-sufficient and reduce the dependency on imports. Currently imports are close to 2 million pound at around $4 per pound at retail. Our extension publications will provide useful information for growers and will make definitive inroads to import substitution.
Publications
- Barber, S.G., Chan-Halbrendt, C., Radovich, T.J., Love, K. "Hawaii Avocado Industry Analysis: Part 2: Buyer Preference Focus". University of Hawaii, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources. CTAHR Cooperative Extension: Economic Issues Nov. 2008.
- Chan-Halbrendt, C., J. Krishnakumar, K. Love, P. Sullivan. Hawaii Avocado Industry Analysis: Part I: Supply Focus. University of Hawaii, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources. CTAHR Cooperative Extension: Economic Issues Nov. 2007.
- Krishnakumar, J., C. Chan-Halbrendt, P. Sullivan and K. Love. The Willingness and Likelihood of Grower Participation in Fresh Produce Supply Chain Management: Special Focus on the Hawaiian Avocado Industry. 17th Annual IAMA World Symposium. Online publication. June, 2007.
- Taste Testing Surveying of the Chefs has been published in the Honolulu Advertiser in December 2007.
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