What Avocados Taught Me About Branding, Exports, and National Identity

I spent a large chunk of my employer’s time today going down a rabbit hole. It all started with an Exporters Convention on avocados to China hosted by SAFIC, which got me curious. I wanted to understand why Peru is the global leader in avocado exports, and what it would take for Kenya (which ranks impressively in the top 10 and is the number one exporter in Africa) to achieve similar global visibility. According to the latest numbers (2024), we shipped 123,000 metric tonnes worth of avocados.

My first stop was “Avocados from Peru,” a dedicated brand that blew my mind. Not only is it a stand-alone marketing powerhouse, but they’ve also partnered with Tesla, Chicago Fire (the football club, not the TV show), and the Cleveland Browns. Yes, their logos now appear on avocado packaging in American and European supermarkets.

I was stunned. We’re used to seeing “Visit Rwanda” on Arsenal shirts, but branding a fruit with such flair? This wasn’t just agriculture. It was lifestyle. It was strategy.

Is Avocado That Important to Peru?

Curious, I asked: where does avocado rank among Peru’s top exports? Surprisingly, it’s not even in the top five. Copper, for some reason, stood out more than even gold (which is the actual numero uno). That left me wondering—if avocados aren’t Peru’s biggest export, why the big branding push? Despite not being in the top five exports, Peru’s avocado exports are substantial, with an estimated 23% share of the world’s primary avocado exports in the three years to 2023. Clearly, it’s not just about volume. It’s about value. It’s about narrative.

What Are We Doing in Kenya?

I turned the spotlight back home. Kenya’s top exports are no secret: tea, coffee, and flowers dominate every list. Kenya is the world’s third-largest tea producer, with tea exports valued at over $1.4 billion in 2024, and is also a significant coffee exporter, contributing to the global market with its high-quality Arabica coffee. So, I searched online for “Tea from Kenya” and “Coffee from Kenya”—using the most SEO-friendly, obvious terms. What I found were mostly private sellers, but nothing that came close to the cohesive, polished identity of “Avocados from Peru.”

Then Came Peru, Again

By now, I was fully intrigued. Apart from the current Pope and the Fireboy DML song (yes that one that was played everywhere for two years it almost became a greeting when you meet some – Hi, Peru? Para!), I hadn’t really thought about Peru in years. But now I was on their tourism site—peru.travel—just to see how else they present themselves.

As expected, the website was visually appealing. But what stood out most was a link tucked at the top: “Business and Meetings.” I remembered a MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) discussion I had attended in Kenya, where private sector players urged the government to actively sell Kenya as a MICE destination. It would be interesting to see how Peru does it.

So I clicked.

What opened was a microsite that was still beautifully designed, but also utilitarian. It had everything: venue options, supplier info, value propositions—an entire business-facing ecosystem, woven into the tourism platform. Impressive.

Naturally, I Ran to Magical Kenya

I love the Magical Kenya brand. It’s arguably the best-branded government initiative we’ve ever had. Show me another, and I’ll be happy to have a second favorite.

The site is gorgeous. But since I was now on a mission, I asked: Can an investor, exporter, or global buyer move from the magic to the business in just a click? Nope. No easy path to Kenya’s investment authority (KenInvest), export promotions (KEPROBA), or national branding (Brand Kenya). Just magic. Nothing more.

So I did what any determined person would do—I went rogue on Google:
“Invest in Kenya.” “Tea from Kenya.” “MICE Kenya.”

What This All Taught Me

1. KenInvest has an amazing, comprehensive website.
2. We need to synergize, converge, and optimize—and all those other buzzwords that simply mean: let’s align our efforts.
3. Most urgently, we need to brand our tea and coffee avocados. Due to our climate and generally more organic farming practices, they are the best tasting. Why aren’t they being seen, tasted, and loved all over the world?

If you told me this morning I’d spend hours researching Peruvian agriculture and MICE strategies, I wouldn’t have believed you. But here we are—and maybe that’s the point.

Sometimes the path to national transformation starts with a single avocado.