The consumption of canned cantaloupe is increasing all around the world. The domestic demand rate for cantaloupe has not been the subject of many studies. In 2011, an outbreak of foodborne illness connected to cantaloupe caused a 32% decline in melon production, and individual consumption of cantaloupe and honeydew melons has still not recovered to pre-outbreak levels. The reason for this survey was to identify and categorize the various categories of consumers who had purchased melons in the three months preceding the study. The 1,718 responses were organized into subgroups based on how often particular melon qualities were mentioned and how highly they were valued. Heavy and moderate customers preferred domestic melons over imported ones. All else being equal, the best qualities of melons are their flavor, freshness, ripeness, and sweetness. Customers are placing a higher value on eating healthily as a consequence of rising consumption. When compared to the moderate consumers, the high consumers made up 22% of the market and ate more than three times as much melon each month.
Similar to the last group, this one ate roughly 10 times as much as the least voracious eaters. Three distinct groups emerged from the cluster analysis. Among the most encouraging findings were a desire for sweet food, an interest in health as a whole, a desire for eating delight, and a need for variety in one's diet, all of which were more prevalent in Cluster 1. Cluster 3 was the largest segment, and its members had the most favorable attitudes and moderate consumption patterns for melons, making them an ideal target audience for future marketing and advertising campaigns. Members in cluster 2 ate fewer melons, spent less money on melons, and drove fewer miles to buy melons than those in the other two clusters. The United States production of 880,000 t in 2016 makes it a major player in the global market for melons. Furthermore, the USA is a major exporter of melons (excluding watermelons). Even though melon production in the United States was at an all-time high from 1992 to 2011, when the largest foodborne illness pandemic in modern American history was linked to cantaloupe, production has dropped by 32% in the previous decade. Since then, the melon business has been hard at work refining its methods of harvesting, preparing, and transporting the fruit. In an additional attempt to revive sagging sales, tastier hybrids with enhanced quality and eating experiences have been made accessible to the general public.
The American public has never been more interested in purchasing fresh fruit. When it comes to fruit consumption in the United States, melons are typically placed at the top. The average yearly per capita intake of melons in the United States is around 13 kg. In 2017, the typical American consumed 3.1 kilograms (kg) of cantaloupe and 0.75 kilograms (kg) of honeydew melon. Consumers may have become more aware of the health benefits of eating melons, the availability of melons has improved so that they can be eaten at any time of the year, new marketing strategies have been implemented, and improved cultivars have been developed, all of which have contributed to the rise in melon consumption. Despite these advancements, per capita consumption of cantaloupes and honeydew melons has not recovered from a sharp decline over the last decade. To successfully introduce new cultivars of melons, it is crucial to have a firm grasp of how consumers now feel about the fruit and what they want to see in the future. This may be because melon consumption is associated with improved health and wellness. There are three types of product aspects that consumers might think about while making a purchase: search, experience, and credibility.
A consumer's impression of a product's experience characteristics is formed only after they have been consumed, whereas a product's search attributes (such as cost, size, and aroma) are considered only at the time of purchase (e.g., sweetness, flavor, texture). Directly assessing credibility features is difficult for consumers, whether they are doing so at the time of purchase or after the fact. Labels are a common manner in which credibility features are reflected in the price (e.g., organically grown or locally produced). Researchers, farmers, and business owners are all keen to learn more about what consumers value most in melons. Industry participants may find this data useful for several reasons, including the introduction of new cultivars, the growth of melon sales and consumption, and the dissemination of key qualities and benefits to consumers. Few studies have looked at how customers feel about fresh market melons. Lester and Shellie concluded from their study that consumers valued the flavor, sweetness, and texture of melons highly and that these factors contributed to consumers' frequent purchases of melons. By 2006, fourteen years later, Lester saw that customers' tastes for certain sensory aspects were rather distinct. Taste mixed with fruit sweetness was the most loved aspect of the melon, followed by the fruit's texture, both of which were associated with its general favorability. Customer feedback suggests that a high concentration of soluble solids (sweetness) is not always indicative of high-quality fruit.
The consumer thought that the fruit's flavor was the best barometer of its overall quality. Consumers' mental frames could influence their final buying decisions. Researchers have therefore identified four major probable attitudes that may influence the purchase of melons: a concern for one's overall health, a preference for sweet foods, an appreciation for the joys that food may provide, and a need for variety in one's diet. The predilection for fruits, and especially melons, may be indicative of an interest in health as a whole. If you consume a lot of melons, you could develop a need for sugary items. This is hardly surprising, considering how highly prized qualities like sweetness are. Eating melons may also be related to consuming meals that bring pleasure, such as sweet dishes and other foods with favorable attributes. Considering how tasty melons are, this may be the case. Finally, the researchers considered that individuals who are interested in expanding their dietary horizons could be more receptive to marketing messages about novel melon cultivars since they are more open to trying new foods. Published scales for measuring such features might be useful when seeking to define the market for melons. Customers may buy melons in many different forms, from whole fruit to precut pieces to frozen chunks to fruit trays, and from many different retailers, including supermarkets, farmers' markets, and small enterprises. The availability of improved cultivars with novel search, experience, and credence attributes has brought about new marketing opportunities for melon growers and sellers to access niche markets and obtain price premiums, even though the single-serving market and smaller households were the primary focus of marketing strategies that helped increase melon consumption in the early 2000s.
Industry participants need to understand client preferences for the qualitative attributes of melon fruit, as well as the factors that impact their purchasing decision, to market new melon varieties profitably. We segmented the market for melons based on consumption rate to get some useful data (non-eaters, light consumers, moderate users, and heavy consumers). There were significant demographic and behavioral differences amongst melon eaters, the researchers found. Meanwhile, moderate and heavy consumers were distinguished from non-consumers and light consumers by their similarities rather than their differences. It was shown that heavy and moderate consumers ate more melons than light consumers, preferred whole melons to slices, spent more money on average when purchasing melons, and were willing to pay a higher price. Additionally, both light and heavy users were more inclined to buy melons from local markets, opening up important avenues to reach this premium client. The nutritional value of melons is emphasized more by both regular and occasional consumers. This may be because they realize the favorable impact that eating melons may have on their health. Fresh fruit consumers who eat a lot of fruit each week or eat fruit sometimes both preferred locally produced melons over those from other states or countries. This trend mirrors improvements in the market for fresh fruit. The COOL research suggests that this credibility quality should result in a higher WTP than other search or experience characteristics. Flavor, freshness, ripeness, and sweetness were consistently ranked as the top experience characteristics across all market sectors. However, those features were given more weight by the heavy consumers, whereas price (a search criteria) was given about the same weight by both groups. Our results are those of Lester and Shellie, who observed that consumers put a high value on melon features such as taste, sweetness, and texture. Lester and Shelley found that taste was the best indicator of fruit quality. Both of these results align with what we found. Naturally, as melon consumption grew, so did our appreciation for and knowledge of the fruit. The highest consumers made up just 22% of the market, but their monthly melon consumption was about three times that of the moderate consumers and nearly 10 times that of the lightest consumers.
In a nation of 328 million people, an increase in melon intake of only one serving per person would amount to an additional 6.6 million melons being consumed (each yielding 18 half-cup servings). When it comes to melons, heavy and moderate consumers place less importance on cost and have stricter quality standards than non-eaters and light consumers. The consequences of this conclusion for scientists and businesspeople are substantial. To meet the needs of light, medium, and heavy customers, growers, distributors, and retailers should make available new types of melons with varying scents and rind colors. Our company has spent many years satisfying the needs of domestic consumers with its high-quality wares, and it has recently taken a major stride toward the international market to meet the needs of consumers everywhere. As a result, we understand what makes our customers happy and consistently strive to improve the quality of our products and services. Making our high-quality products accessible to buyers all around the globe is our top priority. It is important to note that the demand for our products in Asian and European countries has increased consistently over the last several years. Please complete the online form so that one of our sales associates may get in contact with you as soon as possible. You may ask questions of our sales representatives and get additional information this way.