JULY
2015
WATERMELON UPDATE
IF A CRISIS SITUATION ARISES, CALL 407-657-0261 IMMEDIATELY
NWPB Reaches Out to College & University Foodservice
One of the goals of the new Foodservice Program is to reach different segments in
foodservice. The NWPB attended and sponsored the National Association of College &
University Food Services (NACUFS) National Conference, July 22-25, 2015, in
Indianapolis, IN. This year’s conference drew 700 members including foodservice
directors, chefs, purchasing, marketing, and nutrition professionals. The NWPB
sponsored the “NACUFS Café” on Wednesday, July 22, 9a.m.-4p.m. The Café was set
up like a mini tradeshow adjacent to the registration area and meeting rooms for
members to sample and learn about sponsor companies and products.
NACUFS Attendees were impressed
by the Stacked Watermelon Chicken
Salad.
Throughout the day, NWPB sampled three items and passed out a recipe card, product
information, and give-away items. The samples were selected to demonstrate how
watermelon fits menu trends in campus dining, all illustrating the opportunities for
grab-n-go and positive health messages. Watermelon juice, fresh-cut cubed watermelon,
and Stacked Watermelon Chicken Salad were served. While there was awareness of the
menu versatility of watermelon, attendees primarily include watermelon on salad bars
and breakfast bars. Attendees appreciated tasting the salad recipe as an example of the
flavor, texture, and color that watermelon added as an ingredient in the salad. Several
people who tasted that salad took the recipe with the intent to add it to their menu.
The juice and fresh-cut were popular items attendees took back to their rooms. Freshcut watermelon samples were also made available during the Thursday morning break.
The ultimate goal for the sponsorship is to increase the use of watermelon on college
and university campuses. Staff will follow up with potential promotion partners about
scheduling a watermelon menu promotion or including watermelon as part of another
themed dining hall event.
For more than 50 years, NACUFS has been supporting the college and university
foodservice industry by providing members with the programs and resources they need
to succeed in on-campus dining and retail venues. The NACUFS membership consists
of approximately 550 institutions of higher education from across the U.S. and Canada.
Colleges and universities are a great foodservice segment because they can be very
creative with their menu and educate their customers in dining locations.
The NWPB station at NACUFS
highlighted grab-n-go opportunities
for watermelon in college and
university foodservice including a
portable recipe, juice, and fresh-cut.
NATIONAL WATERMELON PROMOTION BOARD
Extra fresh-cut samples were available
during the Thursday morning break
between education sessions.
1321 SUNDIAL POINT
WINTER SPRINGS, FL 32708
407.657.0261 office • 407.657.2213 fax
www.watermelon.org
JULY
2015
Watermelon was all the Rage at
PMA Foodservice
One of the stations featuring
Watermelon Pudding at the Chefs
Strolling Lunch
Watermelon Pudding with Mint
Crème Fraiche, Brown ButterPistachio Crumble and Pickled
Watermelon Rind Slivers
Another NWPB station at the Chefs
Strolling
Lunch.
Both
stations
included collateral for the foodservice
audience.
rd
The Produce Marketing Association held its 33 Annual Foodservice Convention from July 24-26, 2015 in Monterey, CA and
watermelon was everywhere! This is the only event dedicated to fresh produce and foodservice where all levels of the supply
chain come together to discuss opportunities for more produce on foodservice menus. This year had record attendance with
more than 1,800 attendees including operators and distributors. The NWPB sponsored the Chef Talks: A Strolling Lunch on July
th
25 .
The morning education sessions on July 25, 2015, included several examples of watermelon being used creatively on
foodservice menus, establishing its relevance in the foodservice trends of veg-centric cuisine and “root to stem cooking.”
Decreased food waste was a major part of this trend, which lent itself perfectly to the NWPB sponsorship during lunch. Staff
worked with a chef consultant to create a watermelon-forward recipe: Watermelon Pudding with Mint Crème Fraiche, Brown
Butter-Pistachio Crumble and Pickle Watermelon Rind Slivers. The recipe was a great example of how to use the whole product;
the flesh in the pudding and the rind for the pickle. The sponsorship included one station but NWPB ended up with two!
Watermelon uses were also mentioned in the afternoon sessions as well as on the show floor, including some beautiful
carvings.
Follow-up focused on the operators in attendance, will hopefully lead to more watermelon on menus and potential promotion
opportunities in the future.
JULY
2015
RETAILERS LOVE PROMOTING WATERERMELON!
The NWPB retail account management team has been going non-stop
in support of watermelon promotions with retailers! In fact, the summer
has been jam-packed with watermelon promotions both in and out of
the country!
Stateside, NWPB was able to assist Mariano’s Supermarkets in
coordinating an in-store promotion with the Illiana Watermelon Queen
at one of their Illinois locations in support of their five-year celebration
going on all summer.
Illiana Watermelon Queen Lindsey
Hampton at Mariano’s for an in-store
promotion.
In early April, a NWPB retail account manager visited BJ's headquarters
in Massachusetts and went through the retail toolkit with their
watermelon buyer. BJ's Wholesale Clubs include over 200 units from
Maine to Florida. They are listed #27 on Supermarkets News’ list of the
top 75 US and Canadian Food Retailers. NWPB was able to assist in
coordinating in-store watermelon queen promotions at select BJ’s
Wholesale Clubs during the month of June in support of their
promotional activities. Watermelon queens were on-hand to once again
provide materials and educate consumers on all things watermelon. Besides
the queen's visits, BJ's featured watermelon posts and recipes on their social
media venues. Most of the content was supplied by NWPB (example is
pictured). This is the first year that the club has requested in-store promotions
and they were very pleased with the results.
NWPB was also able to co-exhibit alongside Borders Melons and M&P Produce
Company at the H-E-B expo held in late July in San Antonio. H-E-B serves
families all over Texas and Mexico in 155 communities, with more than 340
stores and over 76,000 employees. This expo is attended by all of H-E-B’s
produce managers, buyers, and top-tier executives. Armed with Chef Joe Poon,
the Texas Watermelon Queen, and our resources, NWPB was able to speak with
many produce managers and buyers of the assistance available to them to
promote watermelon. Chef Joe Poon also did carving demonstrations and
One of BJ’s Wholesale Club’s social
media
posts
that
NWPB
contributed to.
“Watermelon is my one true love.” - @mlle_fromage
JULY
2015
spoke to watermelon’s health benefits. Following the
expo, Chef Joe Poon and the Texas Watermelon
Queen also did in-store promotions at two H-E-B
stores. They were extremely happy that we were able
to create
JULYexcitement for the produce managers at the
expo and in the stores. Team watermelon was
definitely a crowd pleaser in San Antonio that
weekend! In fact, H-E-B has already expressed
interest in wanting to do more watermelon
promotions!
North Carolina Watermelon Queen Carmen Honeycutt
(top), Florida Watermelon Queen Kelli Wilder (bottom
left), and Georgia Watermelon Queen Carla Penney
(bottom right) at BJ’s Wholesale Club in-store demos.
H-E-B Expo photo
Chef Joseph Poon and his incredible carvings at an H-E-B
in-store promotion in San Antonio, TX.
Chef Joe Poon and Texas Watermelon Queen Kristin
Valadez at the H-E-B expo.
“My diet recently has basically consisted of tons of watermelon. #itssogood”
- @mariadaniels555
JULY
2015
Chef Joe Poon did two carving
demonstrations during the Expo.
(Left)
NWPB retail account manager Marcia Adler (2nd
to left), and other H-E-B representatives watching
Chef Joe Poon, including Vice President of Fresh
Hugh Topper (center), and CFO Martin Otto
(right).
Internationally, NWPB was once again invited to participate in the U.S. Embassy Independence Day receptions in
Japan and Canada. U.S. watermelon was served as part of both events and was well received by attendees as the
th
perfect treat for a hot 4 of July day. Watermelon Queens and Chef Poon were also busy promoting watermelon
at several Canadian retail stores during the month of June and July in support of U.S. watermelon being sold in
stores during this time. Watermelon Queens traveled as far Newfoundland to educate consumers on health and
selection of watermelon!
National Watermelon Queen Emily
Brown at an in-store promotion at
Thrifty Foods in Victoria, BC
Canada. (Pictured right)
Chef Joe Poon sampling salsa &
carving at Fresh St Market stores in
West Vancouver, BC Canada.
(Pictured left)
“Favorite thing about summer: watermelon.” - @Cody
JULY
2015
Above, National Watermelon Queen Emily Brown and Georgia Watermelon Queen
Carla Penney at one of their Colemans in-store promotions in Newfoundland, Canada.
(Right) Florida Watermelon
Queen Kelli Wilder (left),
National Watermelon Queen
Emily Brown (top right), and
Georgia Watermelon Queen
Carla Penney (bottom right)
at the 15th Annual Longos
Watermelon Eating Contest
in the greater Toronto area in
Canada. The queens visited
a combined total of ten
stores in one day!
(Right)
(Left) Annual Watermelon
Contest Flyer at Longos.
“Heaven is a plate of watermelon right now.” - @rbfl42
JULY
2015
NWPB would like to thank all the watermelon queens, their promotions coordinators, retailers, Chef Joseph
Poon and especially our retail account managers for all of their efforts and coordination in the many successful
in-store promotions!
National Watermelon
Queen Emily Brown’s
appearance at Freson
Bros stores in Calgary
even made the front
page of the local
paper!
Fresh Way to Fiesta
Campaign Spotlights
Watermelon
Where will NWPB be next?
Our latest release from Family
Features, pictured above, appeared
in 242 publications and 1,251
websites! Be on the lookout for our
next release, Party Perfect Carvings
for Halloween, this Fall!
Flavor Experience – Newport Beach, CA – August 3rd – 5th
Indiana State Fair – August 11th
“Watermelon rocks my world.” - @HayleyMcDowell2
JULY
WATERMELON UPDATE
If you’d like to receive the update electronically, please email:
info@watermelon.org
National Watermelon Promotion Board
1321 Sundial Point
Winter Springs, FL 32708
2015