WATERMELON PRESENTATION A & U Studies (Domestic & Canada)

1. WATERMELON PRESENTATIONA & U Studies (Domestic & Canada) rose research, llc. November, 2006

2. 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

3. 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.

4. Detailed Findings

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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

9. Preference for Seeded or Seedless Watermelon

10. Preference for Seeded or Seedless Watermelon 10

11. 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.

12. Purchase Penetration by Season

13. Watermelon Cut by Season

14. Most Important Reason for Purchasing Watermelon “Good taste” is the most important reason for buying watermelon Followed by “my family/kids like it”, “it’s healthy/nutritious” and “it’s cool/refreshing/juicy”

15. Most Important Reason for Purchasing Watermelon

16. 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.

17. Influence of Recipes, Carvings and New Ways to Use Watermelon on Purchase Intent

18. 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.

19. Reasons for Not Purchasing Watermelon – By Season

20. Reasons for Not Purchasing Watermelon – By Season

21. 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.

22. 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.

23. Awareness of Specific Health Benefits

24. 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 “it’s good for them”.

25. 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.

26. New Watermelon Product Ideas

27. 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.

28. Recommendations

29. 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.

30. 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.