Remember when avocado toast was a flex? Now it’s Rs 86 at your corner store

Picture this: in some boutique café in Kochi, a perfectly sliced avocado on sourdough; smashed, seasoned, glowing under soft light. Tagline: “Avocado toast: because you deserve green gold.” That was the era: avocado = expensive, fashionable, Instagrammable.

In malls and upscale brunch places, it was a status symbol. A fruit that screamed: “I eat health, I travel, I post.” To order avocado toast was to flex your global palate. Even in magazine shoots and food blogs, it appeared as a prop for “the brunch life.” It was exotic, it was aspirational, it was a rich-people thing.

In the vernacular, locals already had a name for it: veṇṇappazaṁ (“butter fruit”), a translation probably born from its creamy texture. But for a long time, it remained a “butter fruit beyond reach” — flown in, sold in premium stores, priced like a privilege.

The falling price, rising ubiquity
Fast forward to today, and Vennappazham has officially gone local. You can spot it in supermarkets across Kerala at around Rs 86 a piece (less than a US dollar), sometimes even less. Whether that exact price is universal, it signals a shift — from luxury import to regular produce. Avocado is now commonly used in milkshakes, smoothies, and even plain eats. The very fruit that once lived in posh cafés now rubs shoulders with bananas and jackfruits in roadside stalls.

This is hardly surprising when you look at broader trends: in India, exotic/“foreign” fruit consumption is growing ~17% annually; Kerala outpaces that, nearing ~25%. With rising health consciousness, more people see value in “superfoods,” and avocado fits the bill.

Here’s the catch: Kerala still produces very little of it. Most of the state’s supply comes from other regions or imports, which keep growing by about 20% every year to meet the craze. So: high demand, low local production. That gap is exactly what farmers and planners are eyeing — opportunity (and, of course, risk).

The legend of the first avocado tree
Kerala has its own avocado lore. At the Ambalavayal Regional Agricultural Research Centre lies one of the state’s oldest avocado trees — planted in 1947 by British officials (as part of a resettlement plan post–World War II). That tree still bears fruit. It’s called the “first avocado tree in Kerala,” and a plaque stands nearby to mark its historic status.

Ambalavayal recently got formally declared as Kerala’s first “Avocado City,” and local authorities now track avocado farmers in the panchayat. Even though many farmers already grow avocado there, for a long time there was no formal registry. Today, estimates suggest ~25 tonnes of avocado come just from that region each year, and many shopkeepers in nearby towns collect from local growers or travel to farmers’ fields directly.

Because avocado saplings (grafted) begin fruiting three years after planting, sapling sales have surged following the “Avocado City” announcement.

From privilege to pavement: How avocado got street-level
Here’s how the transformation happened:

1. Supply chain growth
   Wholesalers and traders began sourcing and selling in bulk, bringing prices down.
2. Nurseries and saplings
   Grafted plants became available in Wayanad and other parts of Kerala, encouraging local cultivation.
3. New fruit economy
   As rubber prices fell, many farmers turned to exotic fruits like avocado, rambutan, and dragon fruit, backed by local schemes.
4. Price normalization
   As volume increases and transport improves, per-unit costs drop. What was once premium (because of import, handling, spoilage) becomes affordable.
5. Cultural assimilation
   Once people see avocado in milkshakes, stalls, roadside shops — it stops being exotic in perception. Chefs, dairy shops, street cafés begin blending it in creatively (especially milkshakes).

Thus, avocado has journeyed from aspirational posh fruit to still trendy health food to almost everyday fruit.

What exotic might become common next?
While plenty of exotic fruit saplings are now sold in local nurseries, only a few have proven suitable for large-scale cultivation. Rambutan, pulasan, mangosteen, and passion fruit lead the pack, with avocado and durian close behind. Longan, litchi, and abiu have also begun small-scale, experimental cultivation.

Each of these fruits comes in several varieties, and the real challenge is identifying which ones suit Kerala’s soil and weather best. The ICAR–IIHR Central Horticultural Experiment Station in Chettalli (Coorg, Karnataka) plays a key role in guiding Kerala’s farmers. The station currently provides planting materials and advice for avocado, rambutan, and passion fruit.

Among all these, avocado is the most talked-about and promising. Its strong international demand and price have drawn farmers’ attention. The Chettalli station has released avocado varieties suitable for both highland and lowland cultivation. Of these, the Arka Supreme variety has become the most popular in Karnataka, where the government actively promotes avocado farming.

So, if Vennappazham can go from imported brunch icon to a fruit-seller’s basket in less than a decade, who knows what’s next? Maybe ten years from now, abiu — that little yellow fruit from the Amazon — will be the new local favourite.