Mission Produce eyes growth after Calavo deal
Add Fresh Fruit Portal to GoogleMission Produce announced the acquisition of Calavo Growers back in January, and the deal has effectively expanded the company’s access to fruit, distribution capabilities, and product portfolio.
The combination has also created opportunities in prepared foods, giving the company more resources for innovation, CEO John Pawlowski told FreshFruitPortal.com at the Global Produce & Floral Show 2026, in Orlando, Florida.
The executive also discussed the business’s next phase and why avocados remain central to its growth ambitions.
What does the Calavo acquisition allow Mission Produce to do?
It's really three things: scale, a broader offering, and innovation. The scale allows us to serve our customers in a way that we wouldn't be able to do on our own or that at least would have taken us several years to grow into.
We have greater access to fruit in Mexico and California and broader distribution capabilities. Our job is to get growers’ fruit to the right customers at the right time, and in the right size.
Having broader access allows us to better match the right opportunities for our customers.
How does the wider portfolio strengthen Mission Produce's customer relationships?
We've been proudly serving and providing avocados and now mangoes to our customers for many years. Now we've added tomatoes, papayas, and fresh prepared foods into our mix. So, by having that basket, we become a more valuable partner to our customers.
We have also been expanding our analytical capabilities to do the right thing from an avocado perspective. Now we can expand those analytical capabilities to provide support for all those different categories to allow our customers to have broader access to better fruit.
Where do you see the strongest opportunities beyond fresh avocados?
Prepared foods represent a significant opportunity. We are already a global leader in regard to the supply chain of the avocado itself, so moving into products that fit within it makes sense.
It also lets us engage consumers on more eating occasions. Snacking and breakfast are opportunities that we really want to get into. There are strong competitors that have done good work, but we believe there is room for further innovation.
Image by Mission
There's good energy and growth around the mangoes, although it will be a slower climb. We see similarities with where avocados were 10 or 15 years ago. We will keep investing in consumer engagement and developing that category.
How much growth remains in avocados?
We are an avocado company at our core, and there is still substantial room to increase fresh consumption in the United States as well as internationally.
US consumption is around three billion pounds today. We see a clear path to five billion or six billion pounds over the next 15 years. It took approximately 35 years to move from 400 million pounds to three billion pounds,* so we see the pace accelerating.
What will drive that demand?
Gen Z’s eating habits are different from those of previous generations, with greater attention to healthier foods. The Hispanic population continues to consume avocados at higher rates. We also see an opportunity as GLP-1 medications change how consumers eat.
Image by Mission Produce
Why expand your Fairtrade work?
We want to bring together the best of both companies. Fairtrade is one example. Supporting stable incomes and giving back to growing communities are important to us.
Some retailers are very supportive of organic and Fairtrade products, and we will support those customers. But the main motivation is our growing communities and what we can contribute to them.
*USDA Economic Research Service. Avocado Supply.
Written by Tom Azzopardi | Reported by Ed Vernon in Orlando, Florida
*Main image by Ed Vernon. Other images courtesy of Mission Produce | Archive.
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