Watermelon Consumption Reaches 75% of U.S. Households, Driving $3.2 Billion in Category Sales

The National Watermelon Promotion Board has released comprehensive research showing significant growth in watermelon consumption across the United States, with the fruit now present in 75% of all households. Since 2021, the category has added 7 million new purchasing households, contributing to $782 million in incremental purchases and pushing total category sales to $3.2 billion, representing a 33% increase over the period.

Mark Arney, Executive Director for the NWPB, emphasized the strategic importance of these findings, stating that industry partners now have a clear roadmap for growing watermelon sales across retail channels. The research provides actionable insights into channel dynamics, purchase behaviors, and evolving shopper demographics that are reshaping the watermelon category.

Key findings highlight the need to refine channel strategies, with grocery remaining the leading retail channel while mass, club, and online channels are experiencing faster growth rates and attracting new shoppers. The club channel has become particularly important for watermelon sales, presenting opportunities for merchandising tactics that boost volume per trip. Retailers can strengthen omni-channel engagement by adapting marketing and merchandising strategies across these different formats.

Demographic shifts are also driving category growth, with strong performance among smaller, higher-income, younger and more diverse households, while engagement among older households continues to rise. This creates opportunities for marketers to balance efforts between loyal heavy shoppers and these emerging consumer segments.

To help industry stakeholders capitalize on these trends, the NWPB has released a companion Marketing Guide designed to translate channel and demographic insights into actionable steps for category growth. This study builds on the organization's ongoing research initiative, which includes Watermelon Attitudes and Usage and Watermelon Shopper Segmentation studies, providing a comprehensive understanding of the evolving watermelon shopper landscape. The complete research study and companion Marketing Guide are available at https://www.watermelon.org/audiences/industry/research/retail-research/.