Foodies look forward to the arrival of Vidalia onions every year, and the good news for retailers is that an excellent crop of these sweet onions is expected to hit shelves this season.
Delbert Bland, owner and president of Bland Farms, located in Glennville, GA, is excited about how the Vidalia onion crop is looking.
“You can take a good quality crop and do a lot of stuff, but if you take a crop with problems, those are just going to escalate and those don’t get much better,” he said. “We are definitely excited about what we are seeing so far and we have big plans. Things have been moving along pretty well with this crop.”
He explained that some wet fields at the end of 2018 kept some growers from being able to plant a full crop, and that has meant less Vidalia acres, which should lead to better pricing in 2019 — something that has been needed for a few years.
Bob Stafford, the manager of the Vidalia Onion Committee, headquartered in Vidalia, GA, has been really happy with how this year’s crop is looking and expects it to be a strong season. Still, he said, ultimately it will be the shoppers who will decide how good this year’s onions are.
“You can promote a product all you want to and you can fancy it up and all that, but the end result is when the advertisement gets off of it, and the consumer brings it home and cuts it and eats it,” Stafford said. “That’s your test and that determines whether they’re going to come back to buy some more, and that’s what we’re after. So, we’re really putting a lot of emphasis on taste, appearance and shelf life. Shelf life is a very big thing too, you have to have an onion that will last in the stores.”
Steve Roberson of Roberson Onion Co. in Hazlehurst, GA, believes retailers should be putting Vidalia onions front and center in displays coming in the store, and also put a display in the meat section in addition to highlighting a display in the usual section in the produce area.
“People like to buy them to eat with their hamburgers and other meats and they look for the Vidalia, so if they see them, they will be quick to grab them up,” he said.
Bland said the biggest thing a retailer can do is put up a sign that says “Vidalia” because when shoppers come by and see that sign, they know the difference and will pick them up for sure.
“A lot of times, retailers will bring in this onion and throw it on the shelf and won’t say it’s a Vidalia and that doesn’t make sense to me,” he said.
“You don’t need to market it at a discount price, you just need to tell people you have them,” he added. “It comes down to an individual being aware of what you have in the store, that helps a lot.”
