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Coast. “Grower-shippers in the Southeast are at an advantage over the West Coast due to the shorter food miles, which lowers the deliv- ered cost in addition to delivering a fresher product,” says Generation Farms’ Dees.
Vidalia onions possess high importance for retail sales, says G&R’s Werner. “Vidalia onions have paved the way for every sweet onion on the market today,” he says.
WELL-RECEIVED ONION
There aren’t many consumers who haven’t
heard of a Vidalia onion and don’t understand what they are, observes Richter. “The Vidalias do differentiate themselves from sweet onions elsewhere,” he says. “There are sweet onions from other areas, like Peru, which are certainly very good, but the magic is in the Vidalia name. The Vidalias still carry that aura other onions from other places don’t, even though those other onions may have a lot of the same qualities. They are unique, special and famous.”
Preserving that unique taste through vari- etal investments is critical, says VOC’s Staf-
ford. “The end result is no matter how you market or promote something, when it gets to the consumer, all that’s gone,” he says. “The real test is when they slice it up and eat it. That’s the reason we have to produce what we preach.”
Maintaining that quality is crucial for marketing, says J&T’s Brechler. “Because the sweet onion has grown so much and gained in popularity, there are a lot of ‘imposter sweets’ that are showing up on the market,” he says. “People are saying there are sweet onions available from almost every state, it seems like. It goes back to the integrity of the seed vari- eties used and each grower, packer and shipper. Because sweet onions are produced year-round from multiple locations, a grower needs to remain true to those varieties that produce in a given time slot. They must maintain the integrity, no matter where it comes on any given onion out there, whether it is a Vidalia, a Walla Walla, or a Texas or California onion. The criteria need to be met.”
Vidalia onions possess a strong reputation for consistency. “The quality has improved over the past few years,” says Hendrix Produce’s Hendrix. “Our retail customers enjoy promoting them.” pb
66 / MARCH 2019 / PRODUCE BUSINESS