Ralph Schwartz, VP of marketing and sales at Potandon Produce, LLC in Idaho Falls, ID remarks, “Sweet onions are a well-established category. In the past, mostly we sold in bulk with stickers displaying the variety.” Now, he says, the trend is smaller bags with more information for consumers. “Additionally, sweet onions have found their way into packaged products such as barbecue sauce and salad dressings.”
Branded sweet onions command a premium price, so breeders continue to develop new cultivars to meet demand. John Vlahandreas, onion program director for Wada Farms explains, “Seed technology and growing practices have made for longer seasons and higher yields for sweet onions.” And when supply runs short, suppliers can now reach out to both domestic and international growers for more. “We fill in with Mexican and Peruvian sweets, Vidalias, and Walla Wallas,” he says.
Stefan Matheny, director of sales at River Point Farms in Hermiston, OR, says today’s packaging offers more space for recipes and branding messages. “The wineglass labels and bags with wraparound labels help merchandise our Hermiston Sweets in stores,” he relates. “We also do a large volume with fresh-cut onions,” he says, for both foodservice and industrial customers.
Arizona Sky’s Franzone sees growth in red onions and especially organics. “Red onions have grown exponentially over the years, especially in the multicultural areas of Canada where they are a staple in most East Indian and Asian households.” He notes modest growth in organics, too, on both the onion and potato sides. “This goes along with the industrywide demand for organics in the past several years.”
Transportation & Shipping
Since onions can be fussy travelers, maintaining temperature and timely delivery are crucial, whether by rail or truck. Matheny says his company relies mostly on trucks, but also utilizes rail.
“We use both trucks and rail,” comments Vlahandreas. “You get a more favorable price shipping by rail, but it can take double the time. And since a rail car holds three times [as much as] a truck, the determining factor will often be the size of the destination warehouse.”
Challenges and Competition
Keeping consumers supplied with onions throughout the year is good for the industry, but presents challenges to suppliers. Many cite other onion growing and marketing regions as their competition, while for others, it’s a matter of overlapping seasons and access to markets.
Derek Ennis, sales manager for potatoes and onions at L&M Companies, Inc. headquartered in Raleigh, NC, discusses the ups and downs. With depressed markets for row crops, Ennis says some of these growers are jumping into onions instead, seeing “a potential to make more money with fresh crops. In a good year, this can lead to an oversupply.”
