WINTER SPRINGS, FL – National Watermelon Promotion Board’s (NWPB)’s Director of Foodservice was recently promoted to Senior Director of Marketing and Foodservice. In this role, McKenna will perform various marketing duties for the Foodservice program including event activations, media relations, and providing operators with assistance with ideation, usage ideas, education and promotion support, to name a few. McKenna will also serve as the primary point of contact for consumer, retail, foodservice, nutrition and sustainability research.
Upon beginning her career at NWPB, McKenna was charged with the tremendous initiative of building an all-new Foodservice department. Since its inception in 2014, watermelon on menus has grown by 54%, according to Dataessentials MenuTrend Research, a biannual program also spearheaded by McKenna. She has been an integral part of the strategic planning and direction for the NWPB. Additionally, she is responsible for developing NWPB’s culinary curriculum, a program for chefs and educators that is accredited by the American Culinary Federation.
“Megan has accomplished so much for the NWPB since we hired her,” said Mark Arney, Executive Director at NWPB. “Thanks to her, watermelon is being promoted in the foodservice sector showing significant gains year over year since her arrival. She is definitely deserving of this promotion and we are fortunate to have such a talented individual as part of our great staff.”
Prior to her time at NWPB, McKenna worked at the National Mango Board for eight years, most recently as the Director of Marketing in 2014. She is an active committee member of the International Foodservice Editorial Council, a group dedicated to connecting communications professionals and foodservice media.
About National Watermelon Promotion Board
The National Watermelon Promotion Board (NWPB), based in Winter Springs, Florida, was established in 1989 as an agricultural promotion group to promote watermelon in the United States and in various markets abroad. Funded through a self-mandated industry assessment paid by more than 1,500 watermelon producers, handlers and importers, NWPB mission is to increase consumer demand for watermelon through promotion, research and education programs.
Watermelon packs a nutritious punch, with each serving providing an excellent source of Vitamin C, a good source of Vitamin B6, and a delicious way to stay hydrated, with only 80 calories. Watermelon consumption per capita in the United States was an estimated 15.8 pounds in 2018. Watermelon consumption in the United States was approximately 5.2 billion pounds in 2018. The United States exported an additional 325.4 million pounds of watermelon. For additional information, visit www.watermelon.org.
