The 2019 Vidalia onion season is underway.
According to the Vidalia Onion Committee (VOC), the season began April 22. The coveted sweet onions are produced by 50 registered growers in Georgia and are available for a limited time each year from April to August. One of the world’s mildest onions, the way Vidalia onions are grown and raised enhances the onion’s unique taste, sweetness and texture.
“We have had a strong harvest this year and consumers can look forward to a bountiful supply of Vidalia onions to spice up their favorite dishes from salads to desserts,” said Troy Bland, chairman of the committee, which oversees marketing for the hand-planted and hand-harvested vegetable.
According to Bland, 9,356 acres of Vidalia onions will be harvested this year. They comprise 62 percent of sweet onion sales in the U.S. and 22 percent of total onion sales.
This year, the VOC is launching a new marketing campaign, “The Sweet Life,” to highlight the role Vidalia onions play as a tasteful addition to a dish.
“After a successful two-year marketing effort to raise the profile of Vidalia onions among food connoisseurs, ‘The Sweet Life’ leverages our enhanced brand prominence to a wider audience,” Bland said. “Based on the findings of the research, the goal of the campaign is to position the brand as a signifier of good taste and living well for consumers who like to cook, entertain and, of course, use Vidalia onions.”
The campaign includes targeted advertising, influencer outreach, direct mail and participation in Georgia Department of Agriculture’s Georgia Grown marketing programs, including agricultural tours and chef tastings.
Because Vidalia onions are sweetly unique, farmers united to seek legal protection for their crop and its name. Federal Marketing Order No. 955 was established in 1989, to stipulate where the crop can be grown and help with research and promotion of Vidalia onions. The Vidalia Onion Committee administers FMO No. 955 and authorizes production research, marketing research and development and marketing promotion programs. This federal program along with Georgia state laws that protect the Vidalia trademark have provided a legal framework for the industry. Vidalia onions are grown only in Georgia.
