Fresh Produce Knockout: Cinco de Mayo’s Retail Punch

Promoting this Mexican food holiday can lift produce sales.

With Cinco de Mayo now much bigger than a Mexican independence day celebration, promoting the holiday can help retail produce executives increase sales.

Celebrating the May 5 event is a way to honor Latin heritage. Produce departments can cater to their stores’ Hispanic and non-Hispanic customers through constructing large displays calling attention to and reminding shoppers of the food holiday.

Though Cinco de Mayo isn’t celebrated by everyone, promotions around the holiday are important because the event brings needed added retail produce sales following slower winter months.

“Cinco de Mayo is a great holiday for the produce department,” says Marc Goldman, produce director for Morton Williams Supermarkets in Bronx, NY. “As for avocado sales, it’s right up there with the Super Bowl and New Year’s. It’s a good holiday for guacamole and salsa, and also all the ingredients that go into making both. That usually adds up to a good week in business.”

For the avocado industry, the holiday is pay dirt.

“Cinco de Mayo is the second largest avocado holiday/event,” says Peter Shore, vice president of product management for Calavo Growers Inc., Santa Paula, CA. “Avocados play the center part in Cinco de Mayo promotions and accompany Mexican-themed celebrations. Calavo will have good supplies of avocados from Mexico and California during this promotional period.”

Cinco de Mayo commemoration has expanded into a major celebration of Mexican culture and heritage, particularly through food and drink.

“Cinco de Mayo is one of the most important promotion windows for avocados in the U.S., with it consistently being one of the top avocado-selling occasions of the year, often ranking second or third, alongside the big game and Fourth of July,” says Ken Melban, president of the California Avocado Commission (CAC), in Irvine, CA.

“From the CAC’s perspective, Cinco is a key early-season catalyst that can help retailers build strong momentum for avocados, just as they are transitioning into California fruit, which is in a highly promotable window April through August,” Melban adds. “For retailers, that makes Cinco de Mayo a natural occasion to highlight California avocados, build excitement in the department, and set the pace for continued summer promotions to drive repeat purchases of California avocados.”

MORE THAN AVOCADOS

When one thinks about the holiday, avocados immediately come to mind. However, other produce items, including mangos, tomatoes, sweet and hot peppers, limes, herbs and white onions, should be considered essential and can help boost sales. Other possibilities include pomegranate arils, oranges and pineapples.

“Properly merchandising for Cinco de Mayo is not simply about seasonal decoration — it is a high-impact commercial opportunity that can materially increase produce sales, trial, and shopper engagement when executed correctly,” says Lavanya Setia, director of marketing for the National Mango Board, Orlando, FL.

“Cinco de Mayo is no longer a short, tactical promotion, but a meaningful seasonal demand window that can drive incremental trips, larger baskets, and impulse purchases — especially in produce.”
— Lavanya Setia, National Mango Board, Orlando, FL

She says Cinco de Mayo “rewards retailers who plan earlier, build bold and cohesive displays, and merchandise solutions rather than single items.”

Key Cinco de Mayo commodities move well for wholesalers and suppliers, including Eden Prairie, MN’s Robinson Fresh.

“Cinco de Mayo is a high-traffic, high-basket-size moment driven by celebration foods, at-home entertaining, and strong consumer interest in authentic flavor experiences,” says Faron Smith, Robinson Fresh’s director of commercial enablement. “For C.H. Robinson, the holiday is a major demand accelerator for key commodities, particularly avocados, mangos and limes. In 2025, we saw sales of those three SKUs rise by almost 25%.”

Hispanics constitute 20% of the U.S. population, the second largest U.S. racial group. Between 2022 and 2023, the Hispanic population accounted for 71% of the overall U.S. population growth, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. From 2000 to 2024, U.S. Latino population almost doubled, jumping from 35 million to 68 million, according to the Pew Research Center.

AVOCADO NATION

“Avocados have become quite the powerhouse, and they are not done growing yet,” says Anne-Marie Roerink, a principal with the San Antonio, TX, 210 Analytics market research firm. “When looking across all 85,000 subcategories in the grocery store, avocados were among the top 10 items in absolute dollar growth in 2025.”

Avocados have experienced a 5% four-year Compound Annual Growth Rate, reinforcing an upward trajectory. Although Cinco is one of the lesser celebrated holidays, with only 21% celebrating, the timeframe possesses the second highest household penetration rate, with guacamole and avocados maintaining strong association, according to statistics cited by Avocados From Mexico (AFM), based in Irving, TX.

“Avocados are among the top foods purchased at retail and when you look at the basket, it includes items for gatherings or fiestas, including chips, cheese, beef, tortillas, tomatoes, taco shells, onions and chiles,” says Stephanie Bazan, AFM’s senior vice president of commercial strategy and execution.

“This year presents a unique opportunity in that Cinco de Mayo falls on Taco Tuesday, representing an opportunity for avocados to be merchandised with complementary items, such as tortillas, taco shells, cheese and meats, to create the perfect fiesta.”

“This year presents a unique opportunity in that Cinco de Mayo falls on Taco Tues­day.”
— Stephanie Bazan, Avocados From Mexico, Irving, TX

Though tomatoes, peppers and specialty peppers aren’t as large sellers compared to the bigger Cinco de Mayo staples, they’re showing growth, according to Roerink.

Tomato growers see larger movements in demand several weeks before most major events and holidays, including Cinco de Mayo, says Jon Esformes, chief executive officer and operating partner of Pacific Tomato Growers Ltd., based in Palmetto, FL.

“Tomatoes are a big part of every holiday from the spring on,” he says. “Until we get into the fall, tomatoes play a big part in every holiday.”

Massive displays featuring raw ingredients including avocados, limes, garlic and tomatoes, as well as ready-to-eat guacamole and salsa are recommended.

“Cinco de Mayo is a strong sales opportunity for produce because it hits at the perfect time of year: Spring items are coming in, quality is improving, and shoppers are ready for brighter, seasonal eating,” says Mike Roberts, director of produce operations, Harps Food Stores, Springdale, AR.

“It’s also one of the first ‘big display’ moments heading into summer, so it’s a great chance to sharpen merchandising habits that carry through Memorial Day, July Fourth and beyond,” he says.

CROSS-MERCHANDISING RING

Constructing effective produce displays can draw more consumers to the produce department and encourage them to place more than avocados, guacamole and alcohol into their shopping baskets.

“Seasonal holidays, like Cinco de Mayo, are important occasions to drive volume, specifically for limes, as they are heavily featured in traditional recipes and beverages,” says Zak Laffite, president of Wonderful Citrus, Delano, CA. “Retail produce executives can capitalize on Cinco de Mayo by positioning produce as an essential holiday item through sales, high-visibility displays, and bulk purchase options that encourage party planning. Festive signage, simple recipe ideas, and digital or loyalty marketing reinforces Wonderful seedless lemons and limes’ versatility, strengthening their connection to the celebration.”

Cinco de Mayo has evolved from a one-day celebration into a multi-week seasonal event for fresh foods that lifts sales of other related items, says Tara Murray, vice president of marketing for ¡Yo Quiero! Brands, a Rhome, TX-based dip maker.

“Execution is everything for Cinco de Mayo,” she says. “Today’s shoppers start planning earlier and are looking for a wider variety of flavors and formats, from traditional guacamole and salsa to bolder and more innovative options. Shoppers are actively looking for inspiration and solutions, not just individual items.

“The most successful retailers treat Cinco de Mayo as a destination in the produce department, featuring bold, easy-to-shop displays that group together ¡Yo Quiero! dips, fresh vegetables, chips, and complementary items, like meats and cheeses.”

She says when guacamole, salsa, queso and flavor-forward options like the company’s Creamy Jalapeño Ranch and Candied Jalapeño Dip are merchandised together, it makes the shopping decision “simple, and significantly increases basket ring.”

Cinco de Mayo promotions can help fuel sales because “you can encourage basket building across multiple produce commodity categories and store departments,” says Elizabeth Smart, sales executive for Divine Flavor, LLC, Nogales, AZ.

“There is stronger demand for fresh ingredients,” Smart adds. “Cinco de Mayo is a prime opportunity to provide abundant, high-quality supplies for our retail partners. We appreciate when retailers get creative with point-of-purchase displays around holidays, and we actively support those initiatives.”

Cinco de Mayo promotions help boost retail produce sales during the otherwise lackluster early months, says Sal Selletto, an industry observer and retired produce manager at Middletown, NJ’s Food Circus/Foodtown.

“If you put the items on center stage up front, you’ll get a nice, textured sales boost, much needed after the Christmas holiday season,” he says. “There are so many opportunities that you could actually make a front-end display of all the Cinco de Mayo items, tie them all together and get the grocery department involved.”

For Cinco de Mayo, a profitable produce department is one catering to important cultural holiday eating events, says Robert Schueller, director of public relations for Melissa’s/World Variety Produce in Vernon, CA.

“At Melissa’s, we have been promoting this event for over 30 years now, as it’s been a great way to market to Hispanic/Mexican and non-Hispanics in this Americanized holiday event year,” he says. “It’s a great opportunity to promote the culture and history of Mexican culture through food.”