BIG Interview: Carlos Molina on how Aurumito is bringing avocado education closer to consumers

For many shoppers, the avocado still comes with a small moment of doubt. Is it ready today, tomorrow, or already lost to the dark side of the fruit bowl?

CMR Group wants to turn that hesitation into confidence. Through its AURUM brand, the Spanish fresh produce group has introduced Aurumito, a digital character created to explain ripeness, storage, culinary uses and product value in a lighter, more emotional way.

Instead of speaking only through packaging, prices or premium claims, the campaign gives the avocado a voice. The goal is simple: help consumers understand the fruit better, reduce waste, and make AURUM easier to recognize in an increasingly competitive avocado market.

Fructidor spoke with Carlos Molina, Marketing Director at CMR Group, about why the company launched Aurumito, how the campaign is performing, and why digital storytelling is becoming more important for fresh produce brands.

Fructidor: What prompted CMR Group to launch the Aurumito campaign now, and what specific gap in avocado consumption or consumer education is it trying to address?

Carlos Molina: We identified a clear need in the market for deeper consumer guidance regarding avocado handling and usage. While demand is high, many consumers still struggle with judging ripeness or knowing how to use the fruit efficiently. This prompted us to position AURUM not just as a premium product, but as an educational partner.

To guarantee this premium experience, AURUM avocados are strictly selected under the most rigorous premises within our state-of-the-art ripening chambers by our highly specialized team. Furthermore, we address the gap of availability: we provide a year-round supply thanks to our diverse sourcing origins, including Spain. Aurumito was launched to bridge the gap between this high-tech, reliable supply chain and the market.

Fructidor: Why did you choose a character-led approach with Aurumito instead of a more conventional product campaign?

Carlos Molina: Conventional campaigns often focus solely on aesthetics or price, which can feel transactional. We wanted something deeper. The spirit with which Aurumito was created was to connect emotionally with our brand's target audiences, bringing the brand and its values closer to them.

A character humanizes our avocados, transforming technical excellence into a friendly, approachable story. Aurumito is receiving an outstanding reception, proving that audiences prefer learning and engaging with a charismatic character rather than a traditional corporate logo.

Fructidor: Who is the main audience for this initiative?

Carlos Molina: Our audience is dual, targeting both end consumers and the professional trade client, who is a critical component of our main target group. Because our goal is to bring the brand closer to all our targets, we tailor our communication precisely for each segment.

For the trade, we adapt Aurumito's communications into English, French, and Italian, in addition to Spanish, ensuring a localized and professional approach for international buyers. Whether it is a wholesale distributor in Europe or a family looking for healthy options at home, they all value the core promise of reliability and premium quality behind the character.

Fructidor: Which consumer habits around avocado are you trying to change most directly: purchase frequency, storage at home, ripeness management, recipe use, or reducing waste?

Carlos Molina: We are tackling a combination of ripeness management, home storage, and reducing food waste. Consumers often feel frustrated when an avocado is too hard or overripe. Through Aurumito, we show them that AURUM avocados eliminate this guesswork because they are strictly selected under the most rigorous premises in our state-of-the-art ripening chambers by our specialized team.

To change these habits, we create viral videos for the character in which he explains in an entertaining way the product's properties, culinary uses, and proper conservation. Furthermore, these videos cover other highly useful topics that emphasize the fruit's qualities and versatile applications, presenting all these insights in an engaging and attractive manner to increase purchase confidence.

Fructidor: Many consumers like avocado but hesitate because of price, ripeness uncertainty, or not knowing how to use it beyond toast and guacamole. Which of these barriers do you see most often in the market?

Carlos Molina: Ripeness uncertainty and limited culinary awareness are definitely the most frequent barriers. Consumers fear wasting money on a bad piece of fruit. We eliminate the ripeness barrier by ensuring consistent quality through our strict selection process.

We also combat limited usage through education. We create viral videos for Aurumito where he explains, in a highly entertaining format, the product's diverse properties, rich culinary uses, and conservation AURUtips. In addition, the content features other extremely practical insights designed to highlight the product’s true potential, delivering this information in a fresh and compelling way. This shows consumers how to get maximum value from their purchase.

Fructidor: What type of digital content has performed best so far: recipes, preservation tips, short videos, social media posts, children/family-oriented content, or practical usage advice?

Carlos Molina: Without a doubt, short, dynamic audiovisual content is the clear winner. This specific format has been key to the great reception the brand character is currently receiving.

It succeeds because it combines practical advice into a fun narrative led by Aurumito. By blending education with entertainment, these videos perfectly fulfill his purpose of connecting emotionally with our target audiences and bringing our brand values closer to them in their daily digital consumption.

Fructidor: Is Aurumito designed mainly as a digital communication tool, or could it also appear at retail level through packaging, point-of-sale material, promotions, or in-store education?

Carlos Molina: Currently, Aurumito is strictly designed as a digital communication tool, so his image is not yet incorporated into our packaging, labeling, or physical point-of-sale advertising. However, we are already expanding his tangible presence through promotional merchandise.

We are producing branded items such as t-shirts, mugs, and plush toys that are currently used exclusively for advertising purposes. For instance, the Instagrammers we collaborate with feature these elements in their reels. Although these items are not for sale yet, we are already receiving purchase requests from the public thanks to their fun and attractive design. Looking ahead, bringing Aurumito directly to the retail level remains our long-term vision.

Fructidor: How are you measuring the campaign’s impact: reach, engagement, website traffic, recipe interaction, brand recognition, retail demand, or sales conversion?

Carlos Molina: We look at a mix of digital engagement and retail demand. On the digital front, the metrics confirm that the brand character is receiving a great reception, which we measure through the high view counts and shares of our videos and the strong public interest in our promotional merchandise.

On the commercial front, we measure brand recognition and retail demand. Retailers value our operational stability, knowing we provide a year-round supply from different origins, including Spain. The campaign's success is reflected in how strongly both consumers and professionals now specifically ask for the AURUM brand.

Fructidor: Avocado consumption has grown strongly in Europe, but competition between origins and brands is also increasing. How can education-led campaigns help build loyalty beyond price?

Carlos Molina: In a crowded market, loyalty built solely on price is short-lived; long-term loyalty is built on trust and consistent value. Education is the key to creating that trust. When consumers and professionals know that AURUM provides a steady, year-round supply from reliable origins, including Spain, they trust the availability.

An education-led campaign starring Aurumito reinforces this trust by adding immense value. This fulfills Aurumito’s core spirit: to connect emotionally with our target audiences and bring our values closer to them. This emotional bond makes AURUM the preferred choice over other alternatives in the market that offer a lower added value to the product.

Fructidor: Looking ahead, how does CMR Group see the role of digital communication in strengthening fresh produce brands that traditionally relied mainly on quality, availability and retailer relationships?

Carlos Molina: Traditional pillars like quality, availability, and strong B2B relationships remain essential. In fact, they are our foundation. However, digital communication is the new frontier to future-proof fresh produce.

Digital platforms allow us to speak directly to both final consumers and professionals. Aurumito is the perfect example of this shift; he was created to connect emotionally with our target audiences and bring our values directly to them. By utilizing digital storytelling to explain product potential and usage, we shift from being a passive product on a shelf to an active, loved brand in the industry.

Fresh produce buyers interested in AURUM avocados can send their inquiry for a free consultation.