NWPB Reach College & University Chefs Targets Millennial and Generation Z Consumers Each year the NWPB reaches out to colleges and universities (C&U) to get more watermelon on their menus. These promotions have many positive outcomes including getting watermelon in front of millennial and Gen Z consumers, educate culinary, marketing and nutrition staff about watermelon, and the promotions give the Board great recipes to pitch foodservice media focused on noncommercial foodservice. For the last two years, the NWPB has exhibited at the National Association of College & University Foodservice (NACUFS) national convention to make more connections with C&U dining. For 2017, staff decided to try a new event, the Chef Culinary Conference at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Although a smaller audience, this event was very in depth and lengthy, going nearly a whole week. 2 College & University Chefs Continued and National Restaurant Association Show 3 Biscuit Fest and Southern Food Writers Conference and Facebook Live Event 4 NWPB Expands Consumer Research
College & University Chefs Continued The event is hosted by the University of Massachusetts which boasts one of the best C&U dining programs in the country. The week started with meals, education sessions, culinary demos and a friendly game of Cutthroat Kitchen (Food Network show) with the shows own Jet Tila as the master of ceremonies. Attendees couldn t miss the use of watermelon because two of the three nights chefs used watermelon during Cutthroat Kitchen and watermelon was served as fresh cut, agua frescas, in salads and more during nearly every meal and break. Some of the menu uses came from the sponsorship but many were a great surprise. Additionally, Megan McKenna gave a 7-minute presentation to the more than 350 attendees all about watermelon and how and why to incorporate it on their menus. The NWPB received recognition in the gift bags, conference booklet, website and more - watermelon.org was everywhere! The end of the week was focused on an American Culinary Federation Culinary Competition hosted by the conference. The Chef Culinary Conference connected the NWPB with chefs from C&U across the country and should lead to many new menu items and promotions. Media Connections & Trend Watching at National Restaurant Association Show The National Restaurant Association (NRA) is a huge show encompassing everything that goes into running a restaurant. This year the NWPB focused on reaching foodservice media editors at the Bubble Party hosted by the International Foodservice Editorial Council (IFEC). This is an organization dedicated to connecting editors and publicists to help fill foodservice publications with material and content operators want to read. The NWPB worked with Anton Valkov, Sable Kitchen & Bar, Hotel Palomar Chicago to create the Sandia Swizzle cocktail to help foodservice editors keep watermelon top of mind. Of the 150 attendees, more than 30 writers and editors were in attendance and outreach is ongoing to achieve more coverage for watermelon in foodservice media. On the show floor, NWPB staff saw many new and exciting watermelon opportunities in foodservice. There continues to be buzz around minimizing food waste and although watermelon rind is not a staple in the conversation yet, it will be. There were many new beverages with watermelon on the show floor as well. Although some used syrups, this is great exposure for watermelon at foodservice which will help increase consumer awareness.
Biscuit Fest & Southern Food Writers Conference FOOD NETWORK FACEBOOK LIVE EVENT AT A GLANCE Watermelon butchery class with NWPB s Stephanie Barlow May 18, Noon EST 9.1K viewers at one point As of 5/31, up to 366k views Just over 13 minutes Messaging o Usage like Watermelon pizzas - sweet and savory, flavor - feta, goat cheese o Healthy - lycopene, citrulline o Use the Whole Watermelon - rind pickles o Food safety - wash hands and watermelon o Variety - minis, yellow, orange, fresh cut In mid-may, Watermelon Board took part in a new educational promotion in Knoxville, TN in the form of the Southern Food Writer s Conference and the International Biscuit Festival. The Conference hosted influential and award-winning food writers from all over the country, including food columnists from the Washington Post and New York Times and writers and editors from magazines like Better Homes and Gardens and Martha Stewart Living. Other attendees included cookbook authors and bloggers, food historians and anthropologists. The agenda was packed with variations and versions of the story of food in America. For these writers, recipes are not just about making food but creating connections to people and our past. Watermelon s participation in an event like this culminated in watermelon outside the summer slice, and we served a watermelon breakfast pizza at a breakfast session which went over with excitement and enthusiasm. In fact, the Food Network filmed Stephanie Barlow doing a watermelon butchery demonstration and watermelon breakfast pizza recipe creation on their Facebook Live feed! The video has now had over 350,000 views! You can view the Facebook video here: https://www.facebook.com/foodnetwork/videos/1015447859181 1727/. The International Biscuit Festival immediately followed the Conference, and on a single Saturday in Downtown Knoxville attracted 20,000 people! While attendees browsed the local biscuits to try, fresh watermelon slices were given out by National Watermelon Queen Madison Laney. To blend in with the atmosphere, we rented a 1940 s pickup and displayed the watermelons in the back of the truck, providing a very Instagrammable setting that lots of people took advantage of. Team Watermelon cut up 75 watermelons into sample slices all day long much to the delight of the Biscuit Festival attendees in the 90 degree heat.
NWPB Expands Consumer Research Due to growing watermelon volume in the fall/winter months, the NWPB added a second consumer survey to the calendar to better understand consumer s attitude and awareness for watermelon October through March. Although in the first year the sample size was smaller, it was still a good benchmark for future fall/winter surveys. Here are some top-level takeaways: Consumers responded very similarly to purchase in the last 12-months, liking the flavor, and attitudes and awareness towards watermelon s health and nutrition in the fall/winter as the spring/summer - yearround consumers are interested in what is good for them! The most purchases were reported in October (58%) and March (60%) with November through February being considerably lower (13.5% 4-month average) - fresh cut and even juice grew as a percentage in those months. Although the 2016 Budget Friendly Fruit Study conducted by IRI stated otherwise, consumers see watermelon as an expensive fruit in the fall/winter season an opportunity to amplify the value message in the fall/winter months with consumers. Not available where I shop was a top reason consumers reported not buying in the fall/winter months and having it look good in store was a higher encouragement to purchase in the fall/winter than spring/summer an opportunity to encourage retailers to keep fresh watermelon out year-round and engage consumers with promotions. A surprising 22% responded availability would encourage them to purchase it in the fall/winter. Quality seems to be equally important to consumers in the fall/winter as the spring/summer but is more of a concern in the fall/winter. As a part of the 2017 fiscal year the fall/winter survey will have the same sample size leading to more comparable spring/summer versus fall/winter research conclusions. Queens Continue to Impress at Retail! It s already been a busy season for Watermelon Queens shown here visiting retailers like Wegmans, Balducci s, Stop & Shop and more!
Today s Dietitian Spring Symposium The Today s Dietitian Spring Symposium took place in New Orleans, LA mid-may. Unlike any other event designed for dietitians, the Spring Symposium offers a level of engagement, interaction, and meaningful person-to-person contact between conference attendees, session presenters, and sponsors that is truly different and quite extraordinary for an industry meeting. In addition to sessions and workshops that offer up to 20 continuing education credits, attendees enjoy additional opportunities for networking, peer interaction and product sampling from sponsors. All applicable to the practice and professional development of nutrition professionals, continuing education sessions and workshops were presented by some of the foremost experts in dietetics and nutrition. At the Watermelon Board sponsor table during the lunchtime walkabout, attendees experienced the Use the Whole Watermelon campaign by taste, with sampling of the following recipes: Watermelon Greek Salad (flesh), Fresh Watermelon Juice (juice) and Watermelon Rind Pickles (rind). Educating that watermelon is 100% edible and sharing new items like the How to Use the Whole Watermelon decision wheel and nail file take homes, these influencers engaged with watermelon in a new and unexpected way: tasting is believing! New this year, Today s Dietitian offered a Retail Dietitian reception sponsorship, which only had the Watermelon Board and one other sponsor. We were able to speak directly with RDs at store levels and corporate levels, and even with the RDs advising meal delivery service Hello Fresh. Watermelon cutout popsicles were sampled, plus every Retail RD received a special room drop Watermelon.org bag delivery with a slicer and some watermelon pillows during an afternoon break. It turned into some nice social media coverage for watermelon! Retail Display Contest The annual Retail Display Contest is here! Throughout the months of July and August, retailers are encouraged to build eye-catching displays that promote watermelon of any kind, shares selection and storage tips and includes extra point-of-sale materials like recipe cards. More than $10,000 in cash and prizes will be awarded to retailers for a Star Spangled or Classic retail display. The contest is open to all retail chains, independents and commissaries with U.S origin product. For more information, including photos of past winners displays, entry forms and contest rules, visit watermelon.org/retailers. 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.
Mr. Food Test Kitchen: Segment and Recipe Videos Hit the Air! A promotional partnership with the Mr. Food Test Kitchen is coming to fruition with the publishing and broadcasting of the national TV segment and the Use the Whole Watermelon recipe Fast-Foods videos. The TV segment filmed in January featuring National Watermelon Queen Carla Penney, and will air across the country with their affiliate stations on the first day of summer, June 21st. The program also included creation of three new Mr. Food Test Kitchen recipes and Fast-Foods hands-only style recipe videos, which are now available on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/watermelonboard. The new recipes are the Summertime Mojito Salad (flesh), Refreshing Watermelon Cooler (juice) and Watermelon Rind Coleslaw (rind). H-E-B Expo West Coast Produce Expo NWPB was invited to exhibit at the H-E-B expo held in San Antonio on June 2 nd. The expo is attended by all of H-E-B s produce managers, buyers, and top-tier executives. NWPB was able to speak with many produce managers and buyers about the tools and materials available to them to promote watermelon. NWPB also sampled Watermelon Rind Stir Fry, Fire and Ice Salsa, Watermelon Juice, and Watermelon Lollipops to support the theme of using the whole watermelon. Those that sampled the recipes voiced their enthusiasm as well as their surprise of how versatile watermelon can be. Team watermelon was definitely a crowd pleaser in San Antonio! The NWPB exhibited at the third annual West Coast Produce Expo held in Palm Desert, CA, in early May. NWPB s Juliemar Rosado attended the event along with NWPB retail account manager Katie Manetti. The two-day event included educational sessions that discussed consumer trends and research, networking receptions, keynote speaker Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, as well as the full expo. The expo had a terrific attendee mix of retail and foodservice professionals and was a great opportunity to discuss the board s latest foodservice, retail and communications programs. As an exhibitor, the NWPB interacted with many retailers such as Target, Sam s Club and Hello Fresh, to name a few.
Watermelon in the News Check out some of the recent watermelon coverage in Good Morning America, Food & Wine, Good Housekeeping, Health, Martha Stewart Living, Dr. Oz The Good Life and more! Where will NWPB be next? Produce Marketing Association Foodservice Conference & Expo Monterey, CA July 28 30 Commodity Roundtable Meetings July 31 August 4