Organic Watermelon

Commodity Overview

The organic movement has not caught on when it comes to watermelon. It was one of the few organic produce commodities that saw a dip in sales in 2016, and the average price per pound is lower than conventional. If your store has a high demand for organic products, organic watermelon may be a good bet.

PLUs

94031 regular
94032 regular, seedless
94340 yellow
94341 yellow, seedless
93308 orange
93281 orange, seedless
93421 mini seedless (3-7 lbs.)

Retail Price Data is based on USDA Specialty Crops Market News surveys. Data collection ends on the report date and encompasses ad pricing good from the Saturday before the report release date through the following Friday. Weekly data - from over 400 retailers, comprising more than 30,000 individual stores with online weekly advertised features - covers over 250 produce items. Registered (logged-in) users, can access weekly reports and additional market information.

USDA Specialty Crops Market News publishes FOB and Movement data on a daily and weekly basis. Pricing and volume information is aggregated by commodity and published weekly, subject to any source-data adjustments. Commodity data is further processed based on origin (domestic vs imports) and type (regular vs. organic). Registered (logged-in) users, can access weekly reports and additional market information.

Sales Strategies

Organic watermelons are most popular as a summertime treat. Promote them heavily during the warm months of summer. Include them in summer holiday promotions, especially the Fourth of July.

Include watermelons in promotions with organic berries and other fruit salad ingredients. Cross-promote organic watermelon with organic bagged salads.

Promote watermelon to parents as a sweet snack that’s healthy for their kids. Include it in back-to-school promotions and summer fun promotions.

Dynamic Displays

Mini watermelons may be your best bet when it comes to organic melons so be sure to include them on your display. Organic watermelon is available in both red and yellow varieties, so consumers can have plenty of options.

Full-size organic watermelons take up a lot of space so offer them in bins near the front of the store during the summer. Keep them separated from conventional product and clearly label them as organic.

Use signs to inform consumers of the organic growing practices used to grow organic watermelon. With a similar price point as conventional watermelon, educating your consumers can be key to getting organic watermelon out the door.

Fresh-cut watermelon is a popular option, but avoid cutting organic watermelon in-store unless your store is a certified organic processor.

In the Backroom

Shipping
Organic watermelon is available in both seeded and seedless varieties. It is often shipped in 45- to 55-pound cartons. It is also available in bulk bins. Mini watermelons are available in a variety of options, including 11-count cartons and 6- or 7-count cartons.

Grades
United States
U.S. fancy
U.S. No. 1
U.S. No. 2

Handling

Temperature: 50 to 60 F, 10 to 15.6 C. At 50 F, 10 C or lower, watermelons lose color. At 60 F, 15.6 C or higher they decay.
Relative humidity: 90%
Mist: no
Typical shelf life: 14 to 21 days
Ethylene-sensitive (Do not store or transport with ethylene-producing commodities.)
Susceptible to chilling injury (Damage sometimes is not apparent until produce is returned to a higher temperature. At temperatures of 32-50 F, 0-10 C, watermelons are subject to chill injury.) After one week at 32 F, 0 C, they will develop an off-flavor and become pitted.
For about a week, holding watermelons at room temperature can improve flavor and coloring, and can be held for up to three weeks at 50 to 60 F, 10 to 15.6 C, but it is best to sell quickly.
When stored at higher temperatures, color will deepen.
Once picked, watermelon sugar content does not increase.

Organic Watermelon