Counterfeit Cave City Watermelon’s

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We’ve all heard of knock offs when it comes to shoes and handbags, but in Arkansas it’s counterfeit watermelons that’s got people talking.
Arkansas is a lot like Hollywood when it comes to watermelons.

“It’s not about what you know, it’s about who you know,” says Joey Bond, a Cave City Melon Seller.

Bond and his dad got into the Cave City watermelon business ten years ago, after getting in with a local grower.

It’s not about what you know it’s about who you know”
“We go up in a trailer and buy them in bulk,” says Bond.

When they go out to sell them, the sign speaks for itself.

“[When] it says Cave City cantaloupes or watermelons that entices me to stop and get one,” says customer, Don Beasley.

It’s also that name that people are using to try and make a buck, labeling watermelons grown elsewhere as the coveted Cave City brand.

“We’ve had some problems in the past with people doing that,” says Bond.

The Cave City Watermelon Festival Facebook page recently posted how to know if it’s a genuine Cave City watermelon versus an imposter. Growers put a registered trademark stick on the watermelons that reads “Genuine Cave City Watermelon”.

Usually the famous watermelons are ready to go by July 4th but this year the crop is a little behind.

“A lot of the rain kind of hurt us in the fields,” says Bond. “We will have them [for sale outside of Cave City] July 10th, no earlier.

One grower says they may be available in Cave City by the end of this week.

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