Coop Norge’s tech-ripe avocados result in a 14 percent increase in sales
Coop, Norway’s leading grocery store, is ripening most of its avocados using a new method mimicking the fruit’s natural growing conditions.
The tech enables the process to happen from the inside out and, according to the retailer, has driven a sales increase of at least 14 percent and fewer customer complaints.
“Many people squeeze avocados in the store to check if they’re ripe, but that can damage the fruit and shorten its shelf life,” explains Hanne Brennhovd, Director of Fruit and Vegetables at Coop Norge. “With this new technology, we get more stable quality and hopefully fewer overripe avocados ending up in the trash at home.”
Norway avocado’s new ripening technology benefits
Traditionally, avocados enter Europe and are ripened in the Netherlands before reaching the produce aisle.
Coop Norge, on the other hand, is now ripening its fruit in a facility in Sweden, which Brennhovd says will be a great help in maintaining quality stability.
The adoption of the new ripening technology will also lead to shorter travel times and reduced waste, the company states.
The efficacy of the ripening technology was first tested at Coop stores in the northern city of Tromsø in the fall of 2024. To gauge customer reaction, Coop quietly swapped old avocados for newly ripened ones, leading to an increase in sales.
Buoyed by this success, Coop rolled out ripened avocados nationwide in stores in September. Since then, avocado sales have climbed another 18 percent.
Related stories:
Subscribe to our newsletter
