Winter Springs, FL – October 29, 2026 — The National Watermelon Promotion Board (NWPB) is pleased to announce the winners of its 18th Annual Retail Merchandising Contest, recognizing retailers across the country for their creativity, merchandising excellence and dedication to connecting shoppers with fresh watermelon.
This year’s winning entries demonstrated the power of innovative in-store and digital merchandising to capture shoppers’ attention, inspire new ways to enjoy watermelon and drive engagement at retail. From consumer education and recipe inspiration to sampling, social media and eye-catching displays, participating retailers showcased watermelon’s health, happiness, value and versatility.
The contest also featured a partnership with Tajín®, encouraging retailers to incorporate the popular chili-lime seasoning into watermelon merchandising and inspire shoppers to explore bold, flavorful combinations.
The 2026 Retail Merchandising Contest winners are:
First Place: Common Market, 7th Street, Frederick, Maryland
Common Market took home the grand prize for a creative merchandising program that brought watermelon’s versatility to life through consumer education, a mixed display of whole and fresh-cut watermelon, social media promotion and custom “What’s Cooking” recipe cards. By combining engaging in-store merchandising with digital outreach and recipe inspiration, the team encouraged shoppers to discover new ways to enjoy watermelon.
“We are excited and honored to have won the grand prize. We came together as a team to spread the word of watermelon and all of our hard-work and planning truly paid off. A big congratulations to our entire team!” said Mike Leveille, Produce Manager, Common Market.
Second Place: Barstow MCLB Commissary, Barstow, California
Barstow MCLB Commissary earned second place for its large-scale display and sampling program featuring whole and fresh-cut watermelon and an America 250 theme. The eye-catching presentation paired product visibility with sampling to encourage shoppers to experience watermelon firsthand and celebrate its appeal.
Third Place: Stop and Compare, State Street, Lynn, Massachusetts
Stop and Compare earned third place for a dynamic merchandising program featuring watermelon sampling with Tajín®, social media promotion, whole and fresh-cut watermelon, and retail advertising. The integrated approach highlighted the exciting flavor combination of watermelon and Tajín while engaging shoppers across multiple promotional channels.
Honorable Mentions
The NWPB also recognizes the following retailers for their creative merchandising efforts and commitment to promoting fresh watermelon:
- Greer’s Cash Saver – Vancleave, Mississippi
- Heritage Co-Op – Manitoba, Canada
- Port Hueneme Commissary – California
- Tops Market – Dunkirk, New York
“Retailers play a vital role in connecting shoppers with fresh, nutritious foods, and this contest is a celebration of their creativity and dedication,” said Juliemar Rosado, Director of Retail & International Marketing. “This year’s winning displays demonstrate how thoughtful merchandising, sampling, consumer education and digital engagement can bring watermelon’s health, happiness, value and versatility to life at retail. We’re thrilled to recognize these outstanding teams and the innovative ways they inspire shoppers to enjoy more watermelon.”
The contest officially ran June 8 through August 31, 2026 and merchandising efforts took place a minimum of one week throughout the months of June, July or August. For images of this year’s winning entries, visit https://www.watermelon.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/2026-Retail-Merch-Contest-Winners.pdf
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