As the official pack date approaches, expectations are high for this year’s Vidalia onion season.
“Though still early, our Vidalia crop looks very good at this point in the growing season,” Troy Bland, CEO of Glennville, Ga.-based Bland Farms, said in early March. “We did have a little colder winter than normal that may delay the start of the harvest. However, consistent cold weather helps to produce a sweeter onion in the spring.
“Our plants look healthy right now, and we are looking forward to warmer weather over the next couple of months,” Bland said. “The Vidalia sweet onion bulbs usually put on most of their size throughout March and April, as bulbing is triggered by the lengthening daylight hours and warmer weather in the springtime.”
Cliff Riner, director of crop research and development at Glennville-based G&R Farms, also delivered a positive report.
“Our size potential looks really good from the first field to the last,” Riner said. “We haven’t seen any disease and the crop appears very healthy, so the quality should be excellent if we can keep decent weather to finish the season.”
Comments were similar from other growers and in the Vidalia Onion Committee news release that announced April 19 as the official pack date for the 2021 season.
Last year’s season coincided with the early months of the pandemic, so movement in 2020 was strong, said John Williams, sales and marketing manager for Lyons, Ga.-based L.G. Herndon Jr. Farms Inc. He said that packaged product sold particularly well and said the company expects that trend to continue.
Bland noted that the pandemic-driven increase in home cooking has also been a boon for the industry.
“As people started cooking at home rather than going out to restaurants, we saw an increase in sales for our Vidalia onions,” Bland said. “Vidalia sweet onions are not commonly served within restaurants, so this shift towards cooking at home increased exposure and demand at the store level for our onion. Once people tried them, they were hooked. We are expecting the trend of cooking at home to continue during the 2021 Vidalia season.”
John Shuman, president and CEO of Reidsville, Ga.-based Shuman Farms, noted that the seasonal nature of Vidalia onions gives retailers an opportunity to tout their arrival and drive excitement among shoppers by emphasizing the seasonal nature of the product and its story and history.
Shuman also suggests incorporating Vidalias into a variety of cross-merchandised displays.
“We are seeing the topic of meal planning driving search inquires; therefore we recommend retailers create meal solutions that include Vidalia onions and other items from the store like peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, etc.,” Shuman said. “Merchandising solutions to meet consumers’ needs are vital for success, and Vidalia onions are an important part of the equation.
“We recommend that retailers create secondary displays throughout the produce department and store that complement items such as bagged salads, peppers, mushrooms and potatoes, as the versatility and mild flavor of a Vidalia onion allow it to be the perfect ingredient for any dish,” Shuman said.