Avocado Sales Boom Ahead of the 2026 Big Game

The United States imported more than 300 million pounds of Mexican avocados in the four weeks leading up to the 60th Big Game. That’s enough for more than two pounds of guac per person who tuned in on Feb. 8, 2026, for the second-most-watched championship football match in history.

The enormous avocado import volume in those four weeks easily set an all-time record for that window, breaking the historical average by approximately 20% — that’s no easy feat. Avocados From Mexico (AFM), the top-selling avocado brand in the U.S., has long known that the Big Game is the single greatest day of avocado consumption each year. AFM has strategically leveraged that peak demand to meet the needs of hungry football fans. Its 360-degree marketing efforts in the weeks leading up to the Big Game, including shopper materials, digital engagement, and campaign tie-ins, helped translate the record imports into actual sales and heightened visibility.

And yet, the football-frenzied surge of imports before the Big Game accounts for a little over 10% of the whole picture, suggesting a booming, perennial demand for Mexican avocados. AFM reports that the U.S. is projected to import a record-breaking 2.5 billion pounds of Mexican avocados in the 2025–2026 season.

“This record projection is a testament to the operational strength of this deeply integrated, binational supply chain, and the long-term vision of the Mexican avocado industry,” says Alvaro Luque, AFM President and CEO. “This record-breaking projection isn’t just about volume — it’s about confidence. Confidence in quality, confidence in size availability, confidence in promotable supply, and confidence that our promotional programs are built to support our partners year-round, especially during peak demand moments like the big game.”

The fact that Mexican avocados are available year-round has indeed enabled the industry to meet the steadily rising American demand. Avocado consumption in the U.S. has more than doubled over the past decade, with younger consumers increasingly drawn to nutrient-rich foods that align with trends toward health-conscious and superfood-forward diets. AFM attributes part of the record-setting import surge to this demographic shift, alongside effective omnichannel marketing that situates avocados at the center of communal and celebratory occasions all year — from football season in fall and winter, Cinco de Mayo (the second-biggest day of avocado consumption) in the spring, and cookout season in the summer.

Only Mexican avocados — thanks to the magic of Michoacan’s climate and soil, and farmers’ sustainable practices — can meet the year-round, growing demand. Not to mention, the demand itself is helping to enrich the thousands of farming families who supply America’s favorite fruit. There are around 35,000 avocado farmers in Mexico, plus more than 200 importers and 91 packers, who depend on their family-owned business (and, by effect, on American consumers) for their livelihoods. And the economic benefits go both ways: The industry supports more than 42,000 U.S. jobs and contributed $7.5 billion to the U.S. economic output in 2024.

The record-breaking imports tied to the 2026 Big Game signify more than a surge in demand around a tentpole event. The new heights indicate a mature, resilient supply chain and a clamoring consumer base that considers avocado a fruitbowl staple.