Delbert Bland is an onions and potatoes kind of guy; wife and business partner Sandra Bland is the dreamer of the two, thinking of new ways to put what her husband grows and markets to use.

And while Bland Farms LLC of Glennville, GA, has become a famous name in the onion world, its subsidiary Vidalia Brands is shaking things up on the value-added and processed side, with a lineup including condiments, dressings, dips, toppings, frozen items, potato chips and snack foods.

And starting this fall, Bland will market its growing fresh sweet potato line under the Vidalia Brands label as well.

“I spend my time thinking of new ideas and different ways we can use Vidalia onions and our new sweet potatoes,” Sandra Bland said.

Sandra BlandOver the past few years she has come up with some big winners. The most recent hit is a pair of flavored potato chips — Vidalia Sweet Onion Kettle and Barbecue Kettle — that debuted to great acclaim earlier this year.

Frozen Vidalia onion petals — battered sweet onion pieces that can be fried or baked in an oven — are another recent hit. And frozen Vidalia onion rings, once a staple of the Bland Farms line, are returning to the lineup “by popular demand” and available for pre-order now, Bland said.

“We’re going to market a 20 ounce package of onion rings — 12 ounces of product plus four ounces of our famous blossom sauce — for retail and a 40 ounce club pack with 32 ounces of product and eight ounces of sauce,” Bland said.

Vidalia Brands has its origins in the early days of Bland Farms. In the 1980s, the company was primarily a mail-order business “and 25 years ago we only had a short fresh season — May and June,” Bland said. “People started asking for other products like dressings and relish so I started trying to develop some recipes for the off-season. It was only natural to go out and market to the grocery stores and Vidalia Brands has grown from there. Each year we try to develop a new product — anything you can add a Vidalia onion to. I’m always trying to think of things that customers would love and enjoy.”

One of her first ideas actually proved one of the toughest challenges: a potato chip with authentic Vidalia onion flavoring.

“That was my goal, that was the first project I started working on, in conjunction with Inventure Foods, it just took us two and half years to get there,” Bland said. “I started developing the sweet onion potato chip but we couldn’t perfect the coating. But that idea actually led to the sweet onion petals. And now we finally have the chips.”

With that mission finally accomplished earlier this year, Bland is turning her attention to items to accompany Bland’s fresh sweet potatoes, which will be the first fresh item marketed under the Vidalia Brands label.

“I’m working on kits we can promote with the sweet potatoes, possibly pies, maybe some recipes, maybe even a kit where we supply the spices,” Bland said. “We’re looking at some cross-promotions and coupons. I’m always coming up with new ideas.”