Vidalia Brands sweet potatoes are the perfect partner for Bland Farms’ sweet onions
Vidalia Brands sweet potatoes are the perfect partner for Bland Farms’ sweet onions
The Vidalia area has a reputation for sweetness and that’s proving to be true for more than just onions.
Historically, Georgia was once a major producer of sweet potatoes, but growers moved away from the crop. Now they are returning in a big way and with good reason.
Delbert Bland of onion giant Bland Farms started experimenting with sweet potatoes a couple of years ago. The results were so promising he launched a sweet potato program under the company’s Vidalia Brands subsidiary last fall to a great reception and plans to triple current production next year.
“The sweet potatoes we produced had a very high brix content in them,” meaning high sugars and sweeter potatoes, Bland said. “We were pretty excited and we have really gotten tremendous feedback from everybody we’ve been shipping to. They have really been pleased with the presentation we ‘ve made and the supply we’ve given them.”
Meanwhile, Bland’s famous Vidalia crop is in the ground and thriving, on track for April shipping.
“The Vidalia crop looks just like it should look right now,” Bland said. “Everything seems to be moving along. We’ve had some cool weather, which is good for the crop, and unless we have some adverse conditions going forward, we haven’t had anything that’s made us nervous. Generally speaking we feel pretty good about the crop at this point.”
Bland points out that the health benefits of sweet potatoes match up well with the less-promoted nutritional power of sweet onions. “Both of them are very healthy foods. Sweet potatoes are the new health kick but onions have always been known to lower cholesterol and reduce chances of a stroke and various types of cancer.”
The two products also blend well from a marketing standpoint.
Having both under one roof — and on one truck — “is a marketing advantage as well as a customer relationship advantage. More times than not the same buyer who handles sweet onions also buys sweet potatoes — they’re already very familiar with our reputation and the quality of onions we ship and naturally expect the same thing out of our sweet potatoes. Thankfully we have been able to perform to that level to this point. It’s worked hand in hand for us. I look for sweet potatoes to be a major crop for us going forward. We’re in it for the long haul.”
