John Shuman knows that one in every three dollars spent on onions is spent on sweet onions. The president of Shuman Produce Inc. in Reidsville, GA, also knows that while the Vidalia onion is king of the heap, consumers can and do enjoy other sweet onions — as long as they have the same familiar shape, aroma and taste profile as Vidalias.

Shuman Produce deals in flat, Granex onions, which makes its Peruvian product a perfect fit for its year-round “RealSweet” brand program.

Shuman ProduceJohn Shuman utilizes Peruvian sweet onions in its year-round program to provide a consistent product image.

“Consumer research has shown that the flat, round shape of the onion and its yellow skin color communicate the sweet and mild flavor of the product. Sweet onions are a kitchen staple for consumers, and the ability to provide an instantly recognizable product all year long is a definite advantage for retailers,” Mr. Shuman said. “Peruvian onions may have competitors, but are without equal during their availability. One of the biggest obstacles currently facing the sweet onion category is the labeling of domestic Grano variety cooking onions as sweet onions to capture a premium price at retail — especially during the fall and winter months. These varieties do not share the same sweet and mild flavor profile or the familiar flat, Granex shape consumers recognize from Peruvian sweet onions.”

That hurts the entire category, Mr. Shuman said.

“Three words should always be kept in mind: Displays drive sales. We’ve created colorful consumer-friendly packaging for our bagged onions that provides consumers with nutritional information, storage tips and a variety of seasonal recipes to enhance sales at the point of purchase,” Mr. Shuman said. “A QR code accompanying this information on the rear of each bag leads to a new mobile-friendly website that includes exclusive video content and additional recipes to add even more value to our packaging.”

Mr. Shuman said. “ ‘RealSweet’ Peruvian sweet onions look great this year and we have good supplies with promotable volumes of mediums.”

This year’s Peruvian crop is early, with an overall average size profile, and Shuman plans to increase its imports this year.

“Based on our plantings, we plan to import 800-850 containers this season, yielding about 1.1 million, 40-pound equivalent units of packed product,” Mr. Shuman said. “Supplies are good and the quality of this year’s crop is excellent.”

Shuman’s Peruvian imports will begin at the end of August and continue through February 2013.