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SWEET ONIONS
KEYSTONE FRUIT MARKETING
Sweet onions present an opportunity for incremental produce sales. The health and flavor benefits are an easy sell for consumers looking to cook tasteful food without salt and cholesterol. Sweet onions also offer ample opportunity for promotion and cross-merchandising with a variety of products in and out of the department.
Onions are the most consumed produce item in the world. Average annual onion per capita consumption in the United States is 21 pounds, a tremendous opportunity for consistent sales.
RECOMMENDED
DISPLAY IDEAS
Go big! Capitalize on one of today’s hottest trends — fresh produce. It’s healthful, colorful and bursting with freshness. Nothing says, “Buy Me” quite like big, prominent bulk and consumer bag displays. Endcaps, stand-alones, value-added product offerings, multi- size strategies and consumer bagged displays offer consumers multiple buying options and ensure incremental sales lift.
Establish secondary display areas, especially during promotional periods, to increase sales and consumer aware- ness. Effective point-of-purchase mate- rials and signage also help to showcase the nutritional benefits and outstanding flavor of high-quality sweet onions to consumers.
QUICK TIPS
Sell “A Healthy Way to Add Flavor”: Onions are highly recommended for those trying to prevent cardiovascular disease, cancer and infections. Also, sweet onions are fat- and cholesterol-free, and contain very little sodium.
Ensure your sweet onions are SWEET! Get them from a reliable, authentic source.
Educate store personnel:
Ensure store-level personnel know how to store and handle the product, the difference in sweet onions versus other va- rieties, and usage ideas. They are the front line in helping to promote the product and pro- vide information to customers.
Demos add both excitement and an educational component. A good demo not only spurs sales that day, but builds consistent sales on a regular basis.
Emphasize authentic sweet onion’s nutritional benefits and variety of uses. Promote as an ingredient for holiday or party entertaining, including Super Bowl, Cinco de Mayo and summer barbecues.
CROSS-MERCHANDISING OPPORTUNITIES
Sweet onion usage is very diverse, and cross-merchandising opportunities are virtually limitless. Their sweet, mild flavor make them fantastic on a hamburger or in a fresh salad. As an ingredient, they are guaranteed to enhance your favorite recipes; sweet onions will take any menu offering to a whole new level. Sweet onions are an excellent ingredient added to any dish — especially in guacamole, as part of salads, on hamburgers, in kabobs or with steak.
KEYSTONE FRUIT MARKETING
11 N. Carlisle St., Suite 102 Greencastle, PA 17225 (717) 597-2112 www.keystonefruit.com
OUT-OF-THE-BOX PROMOTIONAL IDEAS
 Schedule a chef demo to show consumers new ways to use healthy onions to infuse flavor into recipes.
 Develop a “Recipe Kit” promotion, which cross-merchandises all the ingredients — including sweet onions — to make an easy meal.
46 / MARCH 2019 / PRODUCE BUSINESS
MASTERS OF MERCHANDISING
FLAVOR AND NUTRITION DIFFERENTIATION
Product differentiation gives consumers reasons to buy with confidence. Empha- sizing the quality, flavor and nutrition differences of authentic sweet onions over regular cooking onions will promote higher rings at the cash register. The top two reasons people eat fruits and vegetables are taste and nutrition. Product education and tasting demos allow consumers to experience products and always generate sales lifts.
AVAILABILITY: YEAR-ROUND OPPORTUNITY
Being able to ensure a consistent, sweet onion flavor profile is an important element for repeat and consistent sales. Retailers can ensure their consumers an enjoyable eating experience every time. Authentic sweet onions are available year-round.
Consistently purchasing the high- est-quality sweet onion brands from only reputable industry leaders is the easiest way for retailers to provide consumers with confidence that they are buying the highest-quality, safest, freshest and most flavorful sweet onions all year long. Forming a win-win relationship between vendors and retailers provides long-term, sustainable and uninter- rupted supply. Use regional freshness as an educational vehicle to educate
consumers on uniqueness of recognized sweet onion growing districts.
As consumers increase interest in buying local and knowing the grower, stores can capitalize on the regional information available for the various sweet onion regions. Creating brand awareness translates to consumer loyalty and repeat sales.
Authentic sweet onions include: •Sugar Sweets: available spring
and summer
• Walla Walla River: available
summer and fall
• Mayan Sweets: available fall,
winter and early spring
Thirty percent of consumers say they would buy and eat more fruits and vege- tables if they knew how to use them, so go ahead and help them. Stores can take advantage of various websites — the Keystone Kitchen’s website, the Vidalia Onion Association’s site and the Walla Walla Sweet Onion Committee site — to provide additional information and resources for customers and to seek out new and creative promotional ideas.