Mini melons play big role
There’s nothing small about the effect miniature watermelons have had on melon sales, marketers say.
“They’re huge,” said Daren Van Dyke, sales and marketing director with Brawley, Calif.-based Five Crowns Marketing.
Five Crowns has paired the mini melon category with another growing category — organics, Van Dyke said.
“We’re going to have some mini watermelons that we’re doing organic,” he said.
Both categories are relatively new to Five Crowns, but there is call for both, Van Dyke said.
Mini melons, in particular, have captured a large segment of consumers, he said. “You’ve got certain consumers out there that are afraid to buy a big watermelon to throw half of it away,” he said.
A mini will feed four people with no waste, and it presents a new merchandising option for retailers, without cannibalizing standard seedless watermelon sales, Van Dyke said.
“I don’t think it’s taken away from the regular seedless. I think it’s added to the overall pull of watermelons,” he said. “And I think what’s definitely going to be coming is one thing for spring and summer, merchandising the minis — you can put it in a bin anywhere in the store. People that do the bin promotions on minis — all of a sudden, they’re moving half again as much.”
A retail strength of the mini melons is they can accommodate various display options, said Jeff Fawcett, salesman with Edinburg, Texas-based Bagley Produce Co.
“I think mini melons have their clients and shelf space and conventional have their clients and shelf space, like you have apples and pears,” he said.
Rio Rico, Ariz.-based MAS Melons & Grapes started a mini program two years ago, said Miguel “Miky” Suarez, owner.
“It’s been a small program and we want to keep growing it, but it’s a slow process for us on purpose.... I think it’s a market that’s growing, but we want to learn how to do it right and measure our capacities,” he said.
Minis have a specific role to play, as do standard watermelons, and a shrewd retailer will have ample supplies of both, said retail merchandising specialist Dick Spezzano, owner of Monrovia, Calif.-based Spezzano Consulting Service.
“As you get into your season, you’ll see more prominent displays start to open it up,” he said. “We’ve seen a lot of changes in melons from seeded to seedless and now the mini-seedless, which becomes more and more ideal.”
Spezzano said category research shows standard watermelons are more an “event” item, such as for picnics, barbecues or some other large gathering of people.
The mini, on the other hand, “is the right size for you and me, so it doesn’t spoil or take a lot of space in the refrigerator,” Spezzano said.
