This year's Vidalia onion crop from Vidalia, Georgia is looking promising. "Thanks to ideal weather conditions, we eagerly look forward to the 2024 season," says John Shuman, president and CEO of Shuman Farms.
John Shuman, president and CEO of Shuman Farms.
This year's official ship date of Vidalia onions is April 17th and the grower will ship retailers conventional and organic Vidalia onions in bulk and various sized bags.
Along with an investor in the agriculture sector, Shuman Farms recently completed its acquisition of Georgia grower Generation Farms which means it has 2,800 acres of Vidalia onions in the ground--approximately 30 percent more acreage for Shuman. "This expansion enhances our capacity and underscores our commitment to meeting the rising demand for sweet onions. It's allowed us to assume full operational control over Generation's land and facilities," says Shuman. "With more packing capability in the new site, plus capital improvements to our existing facilities, we have increased our storage capacity by nearly 25 percent allowing us to continue distributing Vidalia onions through Labor Day."
This year's official ship date of Vidalia onions is April 17th.
Growing Vidalia onion consumption
On top of expanding its operations, Shuman Farms is focusing its efforts this season on edutainment--namely, educating consumers and buyers about Vidalia onions. "Based on our research and industry trends, there is a lot of opportunity to educate the next generation of shoppers on fresh produce," says Shuman. He notes that reaching this age group is different though than previous generations and edutainment is an important tactic to use to help build knowledge about sweet onions as a center of the plate item but also around culinary skills to empower cooking with fresh ingredients.
The company says stocking the onions alongside complimentary items such as peppers and mushrooms can help movement.
While edutainment will be one way to help continue to build the consumption of Vidalia onions, the grower is also recommending that retailers stock onions in stores along with complimentary items such as peppers, mushrooms, avocados, tomatoes and summer squash. The company is also offering full-color, high-graphic secondary display bins.
For more information:
Shuman Farms
Tel: +1 (912) 557-4477
marketing@shumanfarmsga.com
http://shumanfarmsga.com/