South Texas Onion Committee focuses on retail, consumer promotions
The Texas International Produce Association is busy promoting Texas 1015 Sweet Onions thanks to a USDA-AMS Specialty Crop Block Grant administered by the Texas Department of Agriculture. The grant will fund another record-breaking marketing program this spring focusing on increasing brand awareness and sales of the TX1015 Sweet Onion, aimed at both retailers and consumers.
April marked the official launch of the comprehensive marketing campaign, which includes print, digital, and live and in-person promotions throughout the season. Among new or improved retailer initiatives this season are an extensive trade advertising program and greater in-store promotions.
To facilitate brand awareness about the original sweet onion, TIPA kicked off the TX1015 season with an informational virtual field tour at the Viva Fresh Expo. “We’re excited we are able to dedicate additional funds to retailer-centric promotions that highlight the versatility and flavor of the state vegetable of Texas,” said Dante Galeazzi, manager of the South Texas Onion Committee and CEO and president of TIPA.
The consumer-focused promotions in this year’s campaign will reach further and wider than any previous year. Consumers should keep their eyes open for fun promotions including sweepstakes and weekly giveaways, a food influencer recipe program and contest with resulting cookbook, a feature story by Texas food legend David Elder of Texas Eats, and the TX1015 Eat Sweet restaurant week event hosted in the Rio Grande Valley.
“This year’s robust campaign is already off to a fantastic start and we’re confident it will reach our audiences and leave an impact,” said Galeazzi. “Many consumers are not aware that all U.S.-grown sweet onions were bred from the original TX1015 sweets and we’re on a mission to fix that,” he concluded.