The Winter Springs, Florida-based National Watermelon Promotion Board has named winners in its annual Retail Merchandising Contest, which garnered more than 120 entries from various retail chains, independent retailers and commissaries.
This year’s contest utilized mixed media marketing efforts in addition to in-store displays. It began in July to honor National Watermelon Month and ran throughout August to encourage and identify retailers who are showcasing watermelon’s benefits, including health, value and versatility.
Marketing efforts considered in judging included category visibility, point-of-sale materials, good visual merchandising, messaging nutritional benefits, recipes and/or selection education and use of print, online and/or digital platforms. The winners used mixed marketing tactics ranging from eye-catching in-store displays and take-home materials for store customers to social posts that shared watermelon nutrition, fun facts and recipe ideas.
This year’s winners included:
- Grand prize: Schnuck’s Richmond Center – St. Louis, Missouri;
- Second place: Beale AFB Commissary – Beale AFB, California;
- Third place: Thompson’s IGA – Cuba City, Wisconsin; and
- Honorable mentions:
- Detwiler’s Farm Market – Sarasota, Florida
- Homestead Carman Co-Op – Manitoba, Canada
- TwentyNine Palms Commissary – TwentyNine Palms, California
“All entries this year really created an experience for shoppers from sharing recipes and information online to colorful, beautiful displays in-store,” said Juliemar Rosado, director of retail and international marketing at NWPB. “It was great to see all the unique spins on merchandising across the stores.”
More than $10,000 in cash and prizes will be awarded to winners, including $5,000 for Schnuck’s as the grand-prize winner. The second-place winner will receive $2,500, third place will receive $1,000 and each of the three honorable mentions will receive $500.
“The team at Schnuck’s Richmond Center would like to thank you for giving us the opportunity to showcase the talent we have here at Schnuck’s Markets,” said Aaron Carroll, produce manager for the grand-prize winner. “Bringing ideas to life for our customers to get excited about is something we take great pride in.”
A complete list of the winning displays can be seen at watermelon.org/audiences/retailers/retail-contest.
The NWPB was established in 1989 as an agricultural promotion group to promote watermelon in the U.S. and in various markets abroad. Funded through a self-mandated industry assessment paid by more than 800 watermelon producers, handlers and importers, NWPB’s mission is to increase consumer demand for watermelon through promotion, research and education programs.
Watermelon consumption per capita in the U.S. was nearly 16 pounds in 2021. Watermelon consumption was nearly 5.6 billion pounds in 2021. The U.S. exported an additional 375 million pounds of watermelon.
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