MANTECA, CA - Watermelons are a go-to destination in the produce department, especially as the warm summer weather carves out a craving for all things sweet and refreshing. As volume out of Mexico begins to dwindle down and with domestic production on the increase, I recently spoke with Van Groningen & Sons President Ryan Van Groningen to get a better understanding of the current watermelon market.

“Most retailers are making the shift to California and Arizona production as we approach the peak summer months,” Ryan explains. “The spring season with production from Mexico went from extremely high prices to extremely low prices due to the fact that production was pushed back a couple of weeks in April, which then bunched up harvest in May. Now that production from Mexico is ending, demand is strong for domestic watermelon production with very good quality.”

As Ryan goes on to note, the category is seeing normal to slightly higher pricing, which may help alleviate pressures, but it will not fully compensate for the higher growing and shipping costs that have impacted many suppliers.

Though pricing for the category has seen a slight increase, it is worth noting that watermelons are still at an attractive price point for consumers, bringing a key advantage to the produce department as inflation rates encourage shoppers to keep their grocery bills to a minimum.

With watermelon demand remaining steady, retailers can optimize promotional ads to further drive sales throughout the summer season. More resources for accelerating category growth can also be found here.

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Van Groningen & Sons