JUNE 2017

NWPB hosted an experiential media event for food editors at Meredith Media in Des Moines, IA on May 4, 2017. Rather than host a chef demonstration and recipe tasting, we upped the hands-on impact by calling it a butchery class. Vegetable butchery is a big trend right now, and this interactive showcase got the editors to really play with their food while learning all about the 2017 communications

2 Watermelon Butchery Continued

theme, “How to Use the Whole Watermelon.” Stephanie Barlow, senior director of communications, led the class while we simultaneously broadcast on social media via Snapchat and an Instagram story. The class focused on different cuts for different recipes, using the flesh, juice and rind, the value/versatility message and of course was underscored by health benefits and research findings.

3 2017 Foodservice Menu Research Summary

4 CEO Roundtable and Viva Fresh Expo

Watermelon Butchery Class Meredith Media Group Uses the Whole Watermelon

JUNE 2017

Watermelon Butchery Continued…

To feature watermelon’s different cuts and tastes, we had a watermelon keg and a watermelon snowman, and served for lunch watermelon lemonade, watermelon fire and ice salsa, watermelon pickles, the watermelon rind stir fry and watermelon tuna poke, and for dessert the watermelon cupcakes. The rind stir fry was a particularly big hit!

The editors took home a watermelon cutting board and a Watermelon.org butcher’s apron, as well as a jar of watermelon rind pickles and a media kit. We are already considering this event a success in that our goal was to have 10 editor RSVP’s and ended up with 24 in class!

Meredith Media is home to many important and long-standing magazine titles including Better Homes & Gardens, Parents, All Recipes, Shape, Eating Well, Family Circle, Living, and Everyday with Rachel Ray, to name a few. We expect watermelon coverage over the next two years resonating from hosting this class!

JUNE 2017

The National Watermelon Promotion Board (NWPB) conducts menu trend research to understand the opportunity watermelon has in

foodservice and to benchmark watermelon’s presence year-over-year.

2017 Foodservice Menu Research Summary

In 2017, the NWPB invested in Datassential MenuTrends Research. This database includes menus from more than 7,000 commercial restaurants including independents, regional chains, and national chains in all restaurant segments. Please note, this research includes all mentions of watermelon, not just fresh usage.

Research Highlights

• Watermelon is featured on one in ten menus and has grown by 27% in the past four years. • Watermelon penetration on U.S. menus is 11%, up from 8.4% in 2015. • Watermelon ranks 24th among most popular fruits and 20th among fastest four-year growth. • In the Menu Adoption Cycle (Inception, Adoption, Proliferation and Ubiquity), Watermelon falls in

Proliferation having progressed from Adoption in 2015. • Watermelon is found more often on casual and fine dining menus. • Watermelon is most often found on all day menus and has seen the largest growth on dinner menus. • With the exception of side items, watermelon is expanding across the menu with appetizers

experiencing the most rapid growth. • All regions of the U.S. are experiencing increased use of watermelon. • Watermelon is on 3% of appetizer, entrée, and side dish menus and growing – triple digit growth in

casual and fine dining restaurants o Three in ten watermelon savory dishes appear on American menus. Sandwiches, mixed

ethnicity, BBQ, and Mexican menus round out the top five cuisine types. o Although small penetration (1%), watermelon is one of the fastest growing fruits featured on

salads (more than 100% 4-year growth). o Salad ingredients like cheese, tomato, vinaigrette, onion, cucumber, and feta continue to have

long term growth on dishes with watermelon. o Proteins most commonly menued with watermelon are chicken and pork.

• Despite being featured on only 1% of all dessert menus, watermelon is among one of the fastest growing dessert fruits (34% 4-year growth).

o More than half of watermelon desserts are frozen treats such as Italian ice, sorbet, sherbet, and frozen yogurt.

• Watermelon is one of the fasting growing fruit flavors in non-alcoholic beverages (29% 4-year growth). o Watermelon non-alcoholic beverages are more common at limited service restaurants,

particularly fast casuals. o A third of non-alcoholic beverages featuring watermelon are blended drinks, which include

smoothies, slushies, and milkshakes. • Watermelon alcoholic beverages are found on 8% of all restaurant menus and are most often found at

casual dining restaurants. o Watermelon is among the fastest growing fruits in alcoholic beverages, up 39% over the past

four years. o Watermelon is featured most often in mixed drinks such as house-created cocktails, margaritas,

and martinis. o Watermelon’s sweet and refreshing flavor lends to it’s versatility and makes it easy to blend with

vodka, tequila, and gin. o Watermelon mojitos and daiquiris are seeing a spike in popularity.

For more information or to request the full report, please email mmckenna@watermelon.org

JUNE 2017

Viva Fresh Expo NWPB was on-hand as exhibitors at Viva Fresh expo. This event is hosted by the Texas International Produce Association (TIPA) and highlights the “Gateway to the Americas,” showcasing produce grown in the southwestern U.S. and Mexico. The sold out event attracted over 2,000 attendees and took place in Austin, Texas from April 20 – 22. NWPB’s Megan McKenna, national watermelon queen Madison Laney, promotions coordinator Eleanor Bullock and regional retail account managers Cece Krumrine and Marcia Adler attended educational seminars and were able to meet with high profile buyers, retailers, and foodservice industry professionals that were in attendance at the expo and throughout the weekend. The show was a success for exhibitors and attendees and will return to San Antonio in 2018. NWPB received coverage from Produce News and Fresh Plaza.

Mark Arney, Executive Director, National Watermelon Promotion Board, is shown commenting at a meeting of the Commodity Roundtable held on April 26, 2017 in Washington, D.C. Membership is made up primarily of the CEO’s of groups under USDA oversight. This group makes up more than $750 million in combined industry revenues. The meeting was held in the board room of the National Museum of American History Smithsonian Institution. Following the meeting, the group was given a private tour by museum curator Peter Liebhold of the agriculture exhibits in the American Enterprise Exposition. Mr. Liebhold has been a good friend of the watermelon industry for several years.

CEO Roundtable

JUNE 2017

CMPA Toronto NWPB was present at the Canadian Produce Marketing Association’s annual convention May 9 – 11 in Toronto. The event provides a unique forum for industry leaders to enhance their business opportunities in Canada through an exceptional combination of education and networking opportunities. CPMA’s Annual Convention and Trade Show attracts over 3,000 participants from all segments of the produce supply chain and showcases produce from around the world. NWPB has always had much success at this tradeshow and this year was no exception. With national watermelon queen Madison Laney in attendance at CPMA, NWPB was able to schedule queen promotions with retailers. This not only encourages watermelon consumption as a whole, but also supports Market Access Programs in place to support U.S. watermelon exports.

During the 92nd CPMA, the NWPB team participated in a “center of the plate” competition. Each team had to use Play Doh to build a produce-centric recipe. The team created a Savory Fruit Salad with spring mix, pickled onions, mango, grapes, blue cheese, lemon to squeeze over and of course watermelon! After the creative effort, it was announced the NWPB team won out of more than 30 entries! Not only were we creative with produce but professional sculptors with Play-Doh!

Please be sure to sign up for the digital version the Watermelon Update industry newsletter. You can sign up on our website at http://www.watermelon.org/update.

JUNE 2017

MyPlate National Strategic Partnership Meeting

Stop & Shop Shines

Watermelon Board’s Stephanie Barlow attended the in-person MyPlate partnership meeting in Washington, DC on May 10, 2017 to meet with other member organizations and learn about partnership opportunities. As new members, we have many ways to start educating on MyPlate that include creating new educational materials and outreach avenues that will best fit watermelon’s efforts as a new national strategic partner. Dr. Robert Post from The Chobani Nutrition Center calls MyPlate the implementation of the dietary guidelines. Partners like NWPB are responsible for helping consumers map their way to a healthier future.

NWPB sponsored national watermelon queen Madison Laney at a Stop & Shop in-store promotion on April 28. Not only did the New England-based store provide watermelon samples and talking points to shoppers during the event, their produce manager was also presented with the United Fresh 2017 Retail Produce Manager of Year award. Local media and industry representatives were on-hand to present the award to recipient Al Garnett. NWPB could not have been more thrilled at the store’s request to be a part of this promotion and would like to send a huge congratulations to Mr. Garnett on this prestigious honor!

JUNE 2017

Watermelon in the News

Where will NWPB be

next?

Chef Culinary Conference – Amherst, MA – June 4 – 9

Center for the Advancement of Foodservice Educators (CAFÉ) Leadership Conference – Myrtle Beach, SC – June 22 – 24

Check out some of the recent watermelon coverage in Cooking with Paula Deen, Eating Well, Cooking Light, Ocala Style, Food & Nutrition and New York Post online!