Research Reports

There’s no better time to promote watermelons than during July – National Watermelon Month.

And with yellow- and orange-flesh varieties, personal-size melons and fresh-cut watermelon, there’s a lot to promote, says Gordon Hunt, marketing director for the National Watermelon Promotion Board, Orlando, Fla.

Watermelons offer a real value during these tough economic times, and they’re one of the most healthful produce items on the shelf, Hunt says.

Summer Promotions The Alabama Watermelon Association, represented by its 2011 queen Anne-Marie Urrutia, plans to participate in the Chiefland (Fla.)Watermelon Festival June 3-4; BBQ Battle in Washington, D.C., on June 25-26; the Atlanta Braves promotion with the Georgia Watermelon Association July 2 and 3; Indianapolis O’Reilly Raceway Event on July 29-31, including visits with Riley’s Children’s Hospital and the Friday evening race; Mississippi Watermelon Festival July 30; the Alabama Farmers Market Day in Montgomery and at various grocery stores and Welcome Centers throughout the state, says Ali Rauch, promotions coordinator. The Florida Watermelon Association has a busy summer lined up, says Debra Harrison, promotions coordinator. Gov. Rick Scott has declared the first week of June as Florida Watermelon Week, and representatives of the association will hand out watermelon slices on the Capitol steps. For the fourth year, the association will hand out samples during Longo Bros. Fruit Market Inc. watermelon-eating contests at three Toronto stores June 24-26. Florida queen Katelyn Kelley and Georgia queen Jenna Saxon will be on hand. The association also will take part in the Chiefland Watermelon Festival June 4; participate in special activities at the state’s Welcome Centers during June and has scheduled advertising on several radio and TV stations during the month. June 6-12, the state’s watermelons will be promoted on the Jumbotron at Florida Marlins baseball games. The Georgia Watermelon Association will partner with the Atlanta Braves baseball team and Publix Supermarkets Inc. for the second year July 2 and 3, says Dawn Cheplick, member services and communications coordinator. Georgia’s watermelon queen, Jenna Saxon, has invited other state queens to help hand out watermelon samples in the Publix Tailgating Zone. The association also will have a rotating banner ad at the stadium for 25 home games during June and July. The queen will participate in the Kids Run the Bases program during Children’s Health Care Day at the stadium. The Illiana Watermelon Association, representing the watermelon industry in Illinois and Indiana, will have a strong presence for the fourth year in a row at the Kroger 200 NASCAR race in Indianapolis in July, association president Carrie Smith says. The national watermelon queen and several of the state queens are expected to show up. The association also will put on more than a dozen in-store promotions at Kroger stores during the week leading up to the event. The association plans to expand its billboard advertising program promoting homegrown watermelons during July and August. The National Watermelon Promotion Board will have its annual retail display contest during July, says Gordon Hunt, marketing director. Produce managers will have a chance to win $5,000 in contest incentives plus a grand-prize trip for two to the National Watermelon Association Convention at Amelia Island, Fla., in February. The first-place national winner will receive $1,000. Eight regional first-, second- and third-place winners will receive $250, $100 and $75, respectively. Contest rules and an entry form are available at the retail section of watermelon.org. The North Carolina Watermelon Association plans a big watermelon push during June and July, says Nick Augostini, marketing specialist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Alycia Ann McLamb, the state’s watermelon queen, will make as many as 40 appearances at farmers markets, grocery story openings, festivals and other events during the summer, and the association has scheduled broadcast, print and billboard advertising throughout the state. The association also has purchased bus wraps in three regions of the state and trailer wraps for food distribution trucks delivering watermelons to schools, food banks and other locations. The South Carolina Watermelon Association, which operates under the state’s agriculture department, is planning a watermelon night June 24 at the Charleston RiverDogs Minor League Baseball game, says Brad Boozer, marketing specialist. National watermelon queen Whitney Conner and South Carolina watermelon queen Holly Whatley will be on hand to give out watermelon samples, recipe brochures and nutrition information. The association also will take part in promotions at four of the state’s Welcome Centers in June and at events such as grocery store promotions and children summer camps. In August, the association will cut watermelons for the University of South Carolina, Clemson University and Furman University football teams.

Eye-catching colors

One way to catch a shopper’s eye is to prominently display yellow- and orange-flesh watermelons.

So far, yellow-flesh melons have proved more popular than their orange-flesh counterparts, but Hunt says he thinks it’s only a matter of time until the orange varieties catch on.

“The orange flesh is equally interesting and different,” he says.

Yellow-flesh watermelons aren’t big sellers at the 21 South Bend, Ind.-based Martin’s Supermarkets stores, says Ed Osowski, director of produce. But still, the stores offer them – often sliced and quartered – for shoppers looking for “something different.”
Rudy Franco, now grocery manager at the Norfolk Naval Operations Base Commissary, Norfolk, Va., won first prize in the National Watermelon Association’s retail display contest in 2010 when he served as the commissary’s produce manager.

The commissary’s prize-winning display featured 26 bins of red, yellow and personal-size watermelons.

Cutting up

The best way to push colored melons – or even traditional red melons – is to cut a couple open and let the color speak for itself, Hunt says.

Even the red-flesh melons seem more alluring these days because seed companies have developed richer red coloring, he says.

The bright red also helps call attention to the fruit’s healthful antioxidant compound lycopene.

The watermelon board says that watermelons have “higher levels of lycopene than any other fresh fruit or vegetable” and that they’re packed with vitamins A, B6 and C.

The yellow and orange melons also have significant health benefits. For one thing, they’re a good source of beta carotene, another antioxidant, Hunt says.

The Norfolk commissary plays up the health benefits of watermelons by offering literature provided by its produce supplier, Military Produce Group LLC, Norfolk, Va., Franco says.

Small melons, big sellers

Spotlighting “miniature” or “personal-size” watermelons is another way to attract shoppers’ attention – especially when they’re value priced.

When the industry introduced the compact melons a few years ago, some were concerned that they might cannibalize the market.

“That hasn’t been the case,” Hunt says. “We’ve seen huge growth and continuing growth in the mini segment, and it does not seem to be cannibalizing large watermelon sales at all.”

Martin’s stores offer miniature melons year-round, Osowski says. They sell especially well early in the season; shoppers favor the larger sizes as the summer progresses.

Martin’s often merchandises personal-size watermelons with large cantaloupes and lets shoppers mix and match for a value price of two for $4.

Halves and quarters

Displaying overwrapped half- and quarter-melons also is a good way to boost melon movement.

The Norfolk commissary merchandises watermelons cut in half and in quarters in self-contained ice bins, Franco says.

Although typical retail stores can make more money selling value-added cut watermelons, the commissary offers them as a convenience for its customers without adding an upcharge.

Martin’s stores have a display of about 12 linear feet of quartered and sliced melons, Osowski says.

Successful sampling

Sampling is another way to improve sales.

“People are always nervous about selection of a whole watermelon,” Hunt says, but sampling helps alleviate their apprehension.

Last year, Franco was able to arrange a visit from the Florida watermelon queen, who passed out samples at the Norfolk commissary.

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer See the Produce Retailer Merchandising Gallery for more photos.

“She was sampling and educating everybody about the health benefits of watermelons,” Franco says.

The commissary also samples watermelons from time to time in sampling domes. Franco finds that shoppers seem especially attracted to the yellow-flesh melons.

One day, he sold out of all 20 cases of yellow watermelons that he had on hand by noon.
“People want to try something new,” he says.

Some seek seeds

Seedless varieties account for most watermelon sales, but Hunt says there still is demand for the seeded kind, especially during the summer in the South, where they’re a nostalgic treat for church picnics and seed-spitting contests.

Many shoppers at the Norfolk commissary prefer seeded melons.

“Some people like them better because they are a lot bigger (than seedless watermelons), and some people believe they’re sweeter,” Franco says.

Seedless watermelons once were the hands-down favorite at Martin’s, but during the past five years, Osowski says he has seen more and more shoppers picking up seeded varieties. Today, they account for 20% of the stores’ watermelon sales.

Time saver

Appeal to time-strapped consumers by offering fresh-cut watermelon, Hunt says.
Processors have pushed for firm fruit that holds up well and doesn’t fall apart in the container, and the seed companies have responded.

Offer containers with cut yellow wedges as well as red, he suggests.

Retailers that have done that have seen sales jump, with shoppers picking up the colorful containers even though they weren’t on their shopping lists.

Although sales of whole and quartered melons vary by season and temperature, consumers buy watermelon chunks as a convenience item year-round at Martin’s, Osowski says. The stores offer three to eight feet of fresh-cut melons.

One final suggestion: Price watermelons by the pound rather than by the individual melon, Hunt says.

Watermelons are one of the lowest-priced items per pound in the produce department, Hunt says, and that per-pound price proves appealing when shoppers compare melons with other summer fruit.

“Watermelon is a bargain,” he says.