WATERMELON PRESENTATION A

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WATERMELON PRESENTATIONA U Studies (Domestic
Canada)
rose research, llc. November, 2006
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Study Purpose

• Understand the dynamics operating in the
  watermelon category - - among purchasers
  (respondents who have purchased watermelon in the
  past 12 months) and non-purchasers.
• Update the attitudes and behavioral practices of
  consumers since the last project was conducted in
  2004.
• Determine reaction to four new product ideas
  including - -
• - Watermelon Juice - Watermelon Sorbet
• - Watermelon Bread - Watermelon Yogurt

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Methodology
Domestic A U A total of 3,128 telephone
interviews were conducted during June - August,
2006, among men and women in the United States,
18 years of age or older, who are the primary
grocery shoppers of their household. Within the
sample, 2,400 interviews were conducted among
watermelon purchasers - - who must have purchased
watermelon (in any form) in the past 12 months,
and 728 non-purchasers. The watermelon
purchasers were equally distributed among 8
regions across the U.S., including California,
the West, the Plains states, the South Central,
Great Lakes, Mid-South, Southeast and Northeast.
Canadian A U In addition, a total of 253
telephone interviews were conducted during June -
August, 2006, among men and women in Toronto,
Canada, 18 years of age or older, who are the
primary grocery shoppers of their household.
Within the sample, 200 interviews were conducted
among watermelon purchasers - - who must have
purchased watermelon (in any form) in the past 12
months, and 53 non-purchasers.
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Detailed Findings
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Fruit Purchased Within the Past 12 Months
Household penetration of watermelon continues to
grow compared to previous domestic studies.

• Domestic purchasing is slightly lower than
  Toronto this year.

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Watermelon Purchasers (By Region)
Watermelon purchasing has either increased or
remained static in every region of the country
(except the South Central and the Plains states)
compared to previous years.
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Influence of Children on Watermelon Purchasing
Children have a significant impact on watermelon
purchasing (both domestically and in Toronto) - -
as about four-fifths of the respondents mentioned
that their children have at least some influence
when shopping.
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Preference for Seeded or Seedless Watermelon
Seedless watermelon continues to be preferred
over watermelon with seeds - - higher than in
both the 2004 and 2002 domestic studies.

• Consumers in Toronto are even more favorable
  toward seedless watermelon compared to
  respondents in the United States.

• In addition, the following subgroups also prefer
  seedless watermelon
• More affluent households (50,000 or higher)
• Younger respondents (less than 46 years old)
• College graduates

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Preference for Seeded or Seedless Watermelon
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Preference for Seeded or Seedless Watermelon
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Watermelon Cut by Season
Similar to 2004 and 2002, summer is the time
watermelon is usually bought - - with the whole
variety most popular throughout the year.

• Incidence of purchasing watermelon (in any form)
  is higher in Toronto during the spring, winter
  and fall seasons.
• Sections/slices are just as popular as the whole
  variety during the winter.

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Purchase Penetration by Season
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Watermelon Cut by Season
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Most Important Reason for Purchasing Watermelon
Good taste is the most important reason for
buying watermelon
Followed by my family/kids like it,
its healthy/nutritious and
its cool/refreshing/juicy
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Most Important Reason for Purchasing Watermelon
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Influence of Recipes, Carvings and New Ways to
Use Watermelon on Purchase Intent
In addition, about 3 in 10 of the respondents
mentioned that new recipes or ways to use it
would motivate them to use watermelon more often
- - both domestically and in Toronto - -
particularly watermelon purchasers.
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Influence of Recipes, Carvings and New Ways to
Use Watermelon on Purchase Intent
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Reasons for Not Purchasing Watermelon
The top two reasons for not purchasing watermelon
during the winter, spring and fall is lack of
availability and the fact that some consumers
consider it to be a summer fruit - -
particularly infrequent summer purchasers.
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Reasons for Not Purchasing Watermelon By Season
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Reasons for Not Purchasing Watermelon By Season
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Awareness of Health Benefits (By Purchaser Status)
Less than 4 in 10 of the consumers (35) are
aware of watermelon health benefits in both the
U.S. and Toronto - - a message which should
continue to be reinforced.

• Purchasers are more knowledgeable than
  non-purchasers.

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Awareness of Specific Health Benefits
Those aware of watermelon health benefits
spontaneously played back that it has has
vitamins (in general).

• In total (unaided aided), the majority of the
  respondents recalled that watermelon is - - low
  in fat, low in calories, high in Vitamin C
  and contains the antioxidant lycopene - -
  significantly higher than 2004 domestic
  findings.

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Awareness of Specific Health Benefits
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Awareness of Watermelon Health Benefits and
Purchase Intent
Moreover, and an indication of the importance of
watermelon health benefits, the vast majority
of the respondents (who are aware of watermelon
health benefits) would buy watermelon because
its good for them.
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Awareness of Heart-Healthy Benefits of Watermelon
and Purchase Intent
Knowing that watermelon is good for your heart
is even more impactful, as 81 of the respondents
indicated that they would be more apt to buy it
if they had this information.
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New Watermelon Product Ideas
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Top 2-Box Purchase Interest in New Watermelon
Products (Definitely/Probably Would Buy)
Purchase interest of watermelon juice, watermelon
sorbet and watermelon yogurt all surpassed our
purchase interest target of 50 in Toronto, while
falling short in the U.S.

• However, interest in watermelon bread was low in
  both Toronto and the U.S.

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Recommendations
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Recommendations
The National Watermelon Promotion Board should
continue to stress its health strategy to
consumers - - especially the heart healthy
messages recently approved by the USDA.
In addition, the NWPB should consider positioning
watermelon as a year round fruit the whole
family can enjoy in order to increase
consumption during the spring, fall and winter.
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Recommendations
We would also recommend that the NWPB commission
a study to further investigate the attitudes and
behavioral practices of infrequent versus
frequent summer purchasers as a means of
determining how to increase consumption.
Finally, the NWPB should consider conducting a
nationwide study in Canada in order to accurately
measure consumer attitudes and behavioral
practices toward watermelon across the various
provinces.