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Roberson Onion. “Put them in [the regular displays] and in extra displays. Keep them in your regular onion displays with added extra display featuring the sweet onions on a front table for consumers to see.”
Large displays with strong signage are para- mount, notes Stafford. “I like the idea of large displays,” he says. “It’s one of the best ways to merchandise Vidalias. When a consumer visits a store and sees a nice display of beau- tiful onions with good signage, it attracts them. You’re seeing more and more large displays because it’s paying off for the stores.”
MERCHANDISE THE DISTINCTIVENESS
The differentiation is paramount. “Utilizing retail display cases and/or attractive consumer packaging separate from the general onion category creates a greater opportunity to catch the attention of consumers and increase sales,” says Generation Farms’ Dees.
Retailers should pay closer attention to the sweet onions when erecting large displays, cautions Keystone’s Blume. “Although large displays work best, sweet onions will not hold up as well as hybrid or hot onions,” he explains. “So, make sure displays are selling through daily. You have to be careful you’re
PHOTO COURTESY OF SWEET ONION TRADING
not leaving them up there for days on end.” Display care is critical, says Onions Etc.’s Kelso. “It’s important to ensure store merchandisers take out and beautify their displays,” he says. “Sweets are not as attrac-
tive, as they are harvested in hotter weather.” Sweet onions should be displayed in the onion section but separated from the other storage onions, says Kelso.
Location is key for effective displays. “You have to put them in a featured spot because sweet onions are an important produce item,” says Sweet Onion Trading’s Rogers. “If you want to enhance your gross profits in produce, make sure you put them in a prominent spot in the produce department and put them on sale every once in a while.”
Some retailers, particularly the smaller ones,
tend to erect small displays. Smaller displays often result in small sales, says AAA Produce Exchange’s Breimeister. “In order to really sell sweet onions, you have to make an effort,” he says. “The smaller displays don’t get you the bang-for-the-buck. As an industry, we need to take time with independent retailers and educate them a little more on the category, so they know how to build an effective display.”
Sweet onions easily tie into ad promotions, particularly those involving other vegetables and other grocery store items. Sweet onions do well with barbecue-themed promotions, says Kelso. Display size and the other items married with sweet onions are also factors, he says.
Cross merchandising with summer grilling accessories, including tongs and charcoal, works well, recommends Roberson Onion’s Bryson. The best time for those displays is ahead of Memorial Day’s summer grilling and vacations’ kickoff. Many people enjoy “staycations,” where they swim in the pool and barbecue at home. Grilling hamburgers and hot dogs are a big part of that activity. “We have seen these kinds of displays do well,” says Bryson. “Sweet onions are one of the primary beginnings of summer food, a mainstay that people want. Vidalias are a super critical part of that.” pb
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