The National Watermelon Promotion Board is inviting all retail chains, independent retailers and commissaries to submit entries to the 14th annual Watermelon Retail Merchandising Contest, which kicks off in July and runs throughout the month of August.

The National Watermelon Promotion Board examined factors that affect watermelon demand and detailed its multi-pronged effort to help drive consumption during a session held last month at the 107th annual National Watermelon Association convention in Nashville, TN.

As a service to the industry, the NWPB will rehash the in-person presentation during a webinar, to be held March 22.

NASHVILLE, TN – When the National Watermelon Association convention was last held in February 2020, COVID-19 was just starting to rear its ugly head. In fact, less than a month after the 2020 convention wrapped, the nation was faced with a mandatory shutdown to combat the rapidly spreading virus.

The Saguaro Half Marathon, held Feb. 19 in Tucson, AZ, provided a perfect setting to showcase the health and hydration benefits of watermelon while putting the finishing touch on the two-year reign of National Watermelon Queen Paige Huntington.

Huntington was selected National Watermelon Queen two years ago for what is typically a one-year term. She stayed on for a second year due to the cancellation of the 2021 National Watermelon Association convention, where a new queen was to be selected.

All are invited to attend the National Watermelon Promotion Board's upcoming presentation: Affecting Watermelon Demand through Promotion: NWPB Research and Results. The one-hour session will take place Feb. 24 at 11 a.m. at the Sheraton Grand Nashville Downtown as a part of the National Watermelon Association Annual Meeting & Convention.

“Wada said, ‘yes we can’,’’ declared Fran Torigian, vice president of sales and business development for Wada Farms’s Eastern Division, speaking on how the company, most known for onions and potatoes, found its way as a year-round supplier of watermelons. “Wada entered the picture a few years ago in the Carolinas, when a number of their sweet potato growers approached the group, wanting to use watermelons as the rotational crop,” said Torigian.