BEIJING - Zhang Meng eats avocado everyday. The 26-year-old bank clerk makes a smoothie with three avocados and a cup of yoghurt. "It tastes great," she says.

But for many Chinese, the black-skinned, pear-shaped tropical fruit tastes greasy and bland, like butter.

"This is the most awful fruit that I have ever tasted," said a post on the Sina Weibo social network. Others shared their disgust of the Mexican native. In the Chinese mainland, American oranges, Taiwanese pineapples, and kiwifruit are the most popular imported fruits.

The avocado (or alligator pear) originated in Mexico and Central America, but the Chinese named it "niuyouguo" - literally "butter fruit" - for its taste.

Even so, "avocados are healthy and nutritious, loaded with important nutrients, vitamins, antioxidants, fiber and healthy fats," says Julian Ventura, Mexican Ambassador to China.

It is slowly making inroads since the government granted market access to Mexican avocados in 2005, and to Chile and Peru in 2014.

An article titled "How to Eat Avocado with Style?" drew 100,000 clicks on WeChat, China's most popular instant messaging service. Thousands of people share pictures of recipes on Weibo. It is strongly promoted on e-commerce sites, and cooking sites have many avocado dishes, including salads, desserts and main courses.

The online popularity is supported by trade figures. According to China Customs, China imported 31,800 kilograms of avocado in 2011, but in 2014, it reached almost 4.07 million kilograms.

NEW FLAVORS

"People are gradually understanding the importance of nutrition and healthier eating," says Gu Zhongyi, a nutritionist at Beijing Friendship Hospital.

He outlined on WeChat the nutritional values of avocado - it's rich in dietary fiber and potassium.

He points out that one avocado usually contains 6.7 grams of dietary fiber per 100 grams, almost triple that of an apple. While a banana is considered potassium rich at 358 milligrams per 100 grams, an avocado has 485 mg.

In 2007, Zhao Guozhang, founder of Fruit Day, an online Shanghai fruit trader, ate avocado for the first time while traveling abroad. He appreciated its unique taste and decided to expand imports. At that time, an avocado could cost 20 yuan in high-end supermarkets in the mainland.

The high price and unfamiliar taste scared Chinese away. Zhao says most comments his company received in the early years were along the lines of "Weird taste!" and "How to eat it?"

When the company began marketing the fruit by offering nutritional information and recipes in its stores, online shops and social media, sales began a slow but sustainable growth.

Since 2010, its sales of avocados across China had risen by an average 300 percent every year. Last year, it sold more than 2 million avocados.

The surging popularity of avocado reflects the cosmopolitan tastes of China's growing middle class, who are ready to pay a little extra to sample new flavors, particularly if they come with health benefits.

"More Chinese people are incorporating aspects of foreign cuisine and Western cooking styles into their diets," says Zhao.